Unhappily ever after
by LadyTrish
Summary: Roy and Ziva have been an item for some time. Now he plans to take their relationship to the next level and make her his. But does she really want that?
1. Annoying questions and a surprise

**Hey guys! Here is my new story...hope you like it:)) Please review and thank you for the cool reviews for the other story:))**

**xoxo LT**

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**Annoying questions and a surprise**

It was almost 7 o'clock in the morning, when the elevator doors opened and Ziva David walked out, heading towards her desk. She let her bag on her on the ground next to her table and then looked around, surprised not to see anybody in. The first thing that ran trough her head was that Gibbs was probably on a coffee break and the other two, Tony and McGee should be storming in, any minute now.

She sat on her chair and turned on the computer, waiting patiently for the password box to appear.

Life had been good for Ziva in the past months, and she was happy that she had found a man that could understand her and love her.

He was everything she ever wanted, and he loved her for what she was. Life with Roy Sanders was basically divine and things were going quite well now.

Ziva was woken out of her day dream by the sound of coffee being put on her table. She looked up and saw Gibbs's face very close to hers.

"Morning Gibbs." She said

"Good morning Ziva. Here's coffee, to help you wake up." The response came.

"Gibbs I am up." She naively said looking at her boss.

"Good, but I still suggest you to drink your coffee; it will help you snap out of your day-dreaming." He smirked and took a sip from his own cup, and headed towards his desk.

"Where the hell are those two? They are late again." He began.

"Tony probably overslept and McGee was probably working again on his new novel whole night and also overslept." She supposed.

The second she finished that sentence the elevator doors slid open and the two men marched in.

"Sorry boss…Tony began…my car broke down."

"I got stuck in traffic." McGee explained.

Gibbs stood up from his desk and walked towards the two men.

"Both of you turn around."

Both obeyed and slowly turned knowing what would follow. A loud "thump" was heard and Ziva started laughing.

"Boss why doesn't she get head-slapped, after all she is making fun of us." Tony screeched.

"Because she is on time DiNozzo." The answer came and then walked out of the bull pen to get another coffee.

Tony and McGee sat down on their desks; McGee switched on his computer and was typing something. In the meantime Tony was observing Ziva, who was still smiling, but was trying her best to ignore him.

"How was your evening Zee-vha? Did anything special?" he inquired.

"Tony that is none of your business." She responded, but still not looking at him.

"Do you want to know how my evening was?"

"No, Tony. I am not interested in your life."

"C'mon Ziva, you really don't want to know?" he asked, hoping that he could make her ask him in the end.

"No Tony I really don't care what you do with your personal life." She replied and one could clearly notice that Ziva was getting annoyed and it could become dangerous for any man to get Ziva angry.

"Tony I recommend shutting up, if you care for your life." McGee suggested.

" Probie, did I ask for your advice?"

"No, you did not but still…"

"But nothing probie, me and Ziva are having an adult conversation. Now you run along and play with your little high-tech toys." He mocked.

"Fine have it your way. Get killed by her, for all I care. He began…Ziva please by all means, don't spare anything from him, and please start with his ego."

"Would you two shut up already? I'm trying to think here." She shouted at them.

For a while none of the three spoke, the only noise came from Tony's chair while he was rocking.

"You really don't want to know what I did last night Ziva?" he asked again.

Exasperated, Ziva stood up from her chair, walked over to Tony's desk and slammed her palms on his desks asking in a very loud voice:" What the hell did you do last night Tony?"

"I watched a movie and ate a Pizza." He answered with a grin on his face.

"You bug me for half an hour with a stupid question and you did only that? You lead a very boring life."

"Well some of us have a life Zee-vha."

She took a pen from his desk and was getting nearer to Tony, with the intention to shove the pen somewhere, where he couldn't get it out, when Gibbs grabbed her hand and took the pen and head-slapped her.

She turned around, massaging the back of her head and asked: "What was that for?"

"Trying to kill Tony in such an obvious manner."

"Well if you hadn't come along I would have used my imagination." She replied

"Boss, don't you care about me? Don't you care that she wanted my neck?" he panickly asked.

"DiNozzo if she wants to kill you because you annoy her, I will give her permission. You can be such a pain."

"Boss I'm hurt." Tony spoke.

"You'll live." McGee, Gibbs and Ziva responded at the same time.

He sat down on his chair and started to type on his keyboard not looking up at the others. Ziva smiled and went back to work, while Gibbs was enjoying his coffee.

The team was working on cold cases, when Gibbs's phone rand. After a brief exchange of words, Gibbs hung up the phone and headed towards MTAC.

"You three behave, you hear me?" he said before disappearing in MTAC.

Tony did not look up from his papers, and he intended not to speak to Ziva the whole day. She could be such a pain sometimes, but she had some kind of charm that he could not really explain. Since Jeanne had left, she has been a huge help for him, and they had gone closer. He never told her, but every time he was around her; he got a fuzzy feeling inside, but if he wanted to come closer to her, she pushed him away. They were teasing each other, he was coming over to her house, but she was distant in a way and he did not know why.

While he was thinking about Ziva, he noticed a noise, and turned around only to see Ziva answering her phone. He leaned forward to hear better and to his surprised he heard her say _"I miss you to... Oh you have a surprise for me?... Yes I will see you tonight... Around 8, at your place?... Perfect I will see you then."_

She hung up the phone and saw that both Tony and McGee were looking at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Who was that?" Tony asked.

"Are you seeing someone, Ziva?" McGee trailed away.

"That is none of your business." She responded.

"C'mon Ziva tell us. Who's the mystery man?" Tony begged.

"Do both of you want to experience a slow and painful death?" she asked with a grin.

"Don't get in to ninja mode Ziva. We just want to know if you are in good hands. If not we can kick that guy's ass." Tony replied.

"Hahaha. Don't make me laugh Tony."

"Ziva spill it. Who's the guy?" McGee asked.

"All right I will tell you. His name is Lt. Roy Sanders."

"Your kidding, you and dead man walking?" Tony asked, while his jaw dropped.

"Tony you like your head, yes?" she asked threatening.

"Sorry."

"How long have you been seeing each other?" McGee inquired.

"Five months, have passed."

"Tony, she's good. How long was your longest relationship Tony?" McGee asked without thinking.

Tony's face saddened for a minute, thing that Ziva noticed, but he quickly recovered and replied with a smirk on his face; "Well Probie longer then yours, which probably last around 10 minutes."

McGee wanted to make a remark, when all three agents heard: "Gear up, we have a dead man in Quantico."


	2. I do

**Hey guys! I'm really really sorry for the delay...Had a lot on my mind and to tell the truth I have been struggling with this story...Reviews, comments or ideas are more then welcome...If by any chance you have an idea how the story should look please TELL ME:))**

**Enjoy**

**xoxo LT  
**

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I do.

They had been to the crime scene, and investigated the death of Lt. Mark Jones. He had been killed by a bullet, trough the heart. The motive seemed to be unknown at the beginning, but Tony had suggested at some point, actually joking, that they should blame the wife. When Gibbs asked Tony to interrogate the young woman, he did it gladly and found out that Lt. Jones and his best friend Mr. Doyle had had an argument a couple of days ago. They fought about Natasha, Jones's wife. Jones had found out that Natasha and Doyle had been screwing around for about a year and was asking his best friend to end this. Doyle refused and left the house furious, only to drive to Natasha's workplace and try to persuade her to leave Jones. Natasha refused to leaver her husband, to leave the security of a fixed income and a solid and nice roof over her head. In conclusion Doyle murdered his best friend. Or so it went in theory. After bagging, tagging and taking photos of the crime scene, the team headed back to headquarters for more investigations. At 2100 hours, the team, headed home and Ziva arrived to Roy's place two hours later then intended.

* * *

She got out of her car, taking the bottle of wine with her, and then knocked at his door.

"Hey you." Roy said

"I'm so sorry for being late Roy." She apologized.

Roy did not respond, he was to busy checking her up. She wore a dark blue dress, revealing her perfect long legs. The cleavage was deep and Roy had problems taking his eyes away from it.

"I am flattered Roy, but my face is up here."

"I'm sorry Ziva, but you look… wow."

"Thank you, now could I please come in."

"Yeah, yeah sure, come in. Sorry."

She smiled and walked inside his apartment, shaking her hips, making Roy almost trip over his own feet.

He had been crazy about Ziva ever since he could remember. She was athletic, nice, a beast in the covers, she could cook, was cultivated, the perfect woman. The only thing he did not like about her was that she did not open up to people. He had been really hard for him to get to know a little bit about her. A tiny bit, but Ziva was still a mystery to him. Deep inside he was sure that time would actually make her open up to him more.

Even though they were together it still freaked him out that she slept with a gun under her pillow, but slowly he got used to her "protection methods".

She went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water, then walked up to a still charmed Roy and was staring at him amused, while he was checking her up again.

"You have seen me wear a dress before Roy. Please try to focus on my face, or I will show you were I have hidden my guns." She smiled

"Sorry, Ziva." He replied and looked at her face this time.

"I'm hungry. Shall we eat?" she said with a smile on her lips.

Roy led her to the dinning room and pulled her chair. She smiled and looked at him, desire present in her eyes. He went back to the kitchen and brought the food he had been reheating for the past two hours.

They ate in silence, and after dinner Ziva went to the kitchen and pulled out the bottle of wine from the freezer. Ziva found the tall wine glasses she so much loved. Roy had bought them, because she simply fell in love with them when she saw them. In the mean time, Roy had brought the dirty dishes back to the kitchen and after that kissed her lightly on the forehead. She loved it when he was so gentle to her. Both walked out of the kitchen and sat down on the couch in front of the TV, sipping wine.

They looked at each other in perfect silence, he stroke her hair gently, she smiled. He put his glass on the table, she did the same. Then he moved closer to her, feeling the heat of her body, feeling his heart beat wildly. They lips met gently, but the kiss got deeper and rougher, she put her hand trough his hair, and he pulled her closer. Their bodies merged and became almost one, but they had to break apart from the kiss, and both gasped for air.

"You must have really missed me Roy." She smiled.

He took her once more in his arms and they began kissing again. He slid his hand under her skirt and she left out a small moan. She moved her hands up his back, pulling his hair, kissing him harder. Ziva wanted Roy more then anything in the world, but her pushed her away at one point. She looked him in the eyes, confused for a second.

"Before we go on, I need to ask you something." He began

"I am listening." She replied

He leaned over her and opened the drawer of a small table, and took out a small velvet box. Then moved next to her, while Ziva was looking at the box, a little confused, but anxious to find out what Roy's surprise was.

"Ziva we know each other for a longer period of time. You have been all the time by my side, gave me everything I wanted, supported me, you are in one way my soul mate." He said, leaving her speechless but showing a small smile

"With this I want to ask you….he paused…If you, Ziva David want to be my wife."

He opened the box and looked at her with anticipation.

For Ziva the world had stopped, and she couldn't believe what she just heard. It was finally her chance of having a normal life, with a loving husband, children, and a family. Tony's face flashed through her head when she was about to say the two words that would make Roy the happiest man alive. The seconds were passing, the silence was awkward between them, and Ziva could feel how Tony was creeping in to her soul once more. She had fought this "demon" so many times, and tried to focus on the beautiful life she had with Roy, but the handsome and charming Italian devil would not grant her peace.

With her whole will power, she pushed Tony from her mind once more, smiled and said "I do".

He smiled, and slid the ring on her finger and kissed her passionately, picking her up and carrying her in to the bedroom.

Two hours later, Roy was sound asleep, but she was still awake. Yes she was satisfied, but something was wrong with her. In the darkness, she slid the ring off her finger and looked at its shape. The soft light from the light pole on the street was dancing on the ring, and she could feel the coldness of the sapphire.

She thought about Tony for the hundred times this night, since Roy proposed. Why she was thinking of him she couldn't understand. The Mossad assassin thought about the time she had spend with Tony, of how much fun they had and how he made her feel comfortable. On the other hand he could never give her the security, that Roy gives, and Tony was a joker, not mature enough. On top of everything he had never felt about her the way she had felt for him.

"_Had felt for him or still feel for him?"_ she thought.

"_That's enough. Go away Tony; you can't take this away from me. I will marry Roy and I am going to be happy."_ She said to herself and then turned around and tried to fall asleep.


	3. Girl talk

**Hey guys! First of all thank you for the lovely reviews...Special thanks to ncisgirl101! Thank you for giving me an idea what to write. This is the next chapter, I hope you like it. Please review:))**

**xoxo LT**

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**Girl talk!**

"_Tring tring tring!"_

"Ziva get that please" Roy muttered in her ear.

"It's on your side, turn it off yourself." The response came.

"In a minute."

"_Tring tring tring!"_

She turned around to face him, and smiled. He slept like a baby, and looked so peaceful, she just wanted to hug him and hold him forever, protect him from any harm. She stretched over him to turn off the alarm clock, but suddenly something grabbed her waist. Ziva looked down and saw Roy smiling. "Ready to try another form of exercise and skip running?" he grinned.

She let out a chuckle and kissed him on the forehead, pondering for a second if she should take the offer of exercising this time in a different way.

After a few seconds of gazing at each other she jumped out of bed and pulled the sheet covering Roy's body.

"If we hurry up and make the route shorter this time, we can take a shower...she grinned…together."

Roy quickly jumped out of bed and in a matter of seconds got dressed, and then both left the house.

They did not take the usual rout, they took a shortcut and instead of running for one hour like they used to do every morning, they ended up at Roy's apartment, 20 minutes later.

* * *

The elevator doors opened and the young Mossad assassin walked in to the office. She managed somehow to get in to work early and was hoping that the others weren't in yet. The first person with whom she wanted to share the good news was Abby.

She wondered if Abby had slept at McGee's house again, and prayed that she was here. Ziva dropped her bag next to her chair and headed towards the elevator. Her luck of course was that the elevator doors opened and a grumpy and sleepy Tony walked out.

"Morning Zee-vha." He muttered

"Morning Tony…Bye Tony." She said, quickly sliding in his place and pressing the button, wishing that the doors would close faster and he would not see her look or the fact that she was hiding her hand from him. The seconds past painful and he was checking her up, and was about to enter the elevator again, when the doors closed and Ziva breathed relieved.

A few minutes later the elevator doors swung open again, exposing Ziva to a huge amount of decibels. Oh yes, Abby had arrived at work, and judging from the extra loud music in the morning she has spend an exciting night with McGee. She walked up to her friend and patted her on the back. Abby jumped up surprised, turned around and hugged Ziva tightly. The Israeli grabbed the chance and told Abby to turn of the music and the happy Goth rushed over to her CD player and turned the noise, called music, off.

"Good morning Ziva." She said hyper.

"Morning Abby! I see you had a fun evening." She grinned

"Is it that obvious?"

"Kind off, but I am happy for you." Ziva gave her a smile and Abby rushed in to another hug,

When they broke apart, Abby started measuring her from head to toe.

"You are different today Ziva. I don' know what but something is different about you."

"C'mon Abby. There is nothing changed about me." Ziva lied but her smile gave her away.

"Oh my God, Ziva I want to hear EVERYTHING!" Abby started and grabbed her by the hand, dragging her to another part of the lab so they could both sit down.

"Well, where should I start?" Ziva began

"From the beginning Ziva, from the beginning."

"Well the stupid case, kept me in the office yesterday so I got at Roy's place 2 hours later. He waited, cooked a delicious mean, it was great. After dinner we tried to watch a movie, but we were distracted let's say."

"Distracted by what?" Abby asked naively.

"Each other." Ziva laughed

"O, I see, he couldn't keep his hands home. I have the same problem with McGee." The Goth grinned.

"Yes, he could not but at one point he stopped, and well…he proposed." She quickly exhaled and waited.

Abby looked at her and then squeaked, started jumping up and down and hugging Ziva.

"Oh my God, you are getting married. Congratulations Ziva, I am so happy for you, wow this is big. Have you picked a date? What are you going to wear? Where is the reception? Who is going to be your brides made? Have you told Tony?" she said and went quiet the moment she spoke Tony's name.

"No date yet. I have no idea. Somewhere nice. You are. No, I have not." She responded and went quiet, her mind drifting off to Tony again.

"Abby something really weird happened to me yesterday." She began

"Do tell Ziva." Abby responded and took a seat again, looking at her friend.

"When Roy proposed to me, I should have been thrilled, and say yes instantly, but the first thing that popped in to my head was Tony. After Roy and I had sex, I couldn't fall asleep and I was still thinking about him."

"Oh Oh !" Abby said

"Oh Oh, what?"

"Ziva tell me honestly, do you still have feelings for Tony?"

"No Abby! I don't think so. I mean there is nothing possible between me and Tony. He had so many chances, so many opportunities, but he always pushed me away and then Jeanne happened and after they were no longer an item, I still gave him a chance even if I was with Roy. I think I got fed up on the way of waiting for him. I finally found somebody that understands me and is there for me when I need him, and most important doesn't hide things from me."

"Yeah that's all nice and neat but what do you really feel?"

"I don't know Abby, I know that I care a great deal about Roy and this is enough for me. I am tiered of waiting."

"Your choice Ziva, but I really think you should talk to Tony."

"What for Abby? He would push me away, laugh or joke. Maybe I am better off with Roy."

"Even if we both know that your heart says something else."

Ziva did not answer, she did not know the answer to the question if her heart. She wasn't sure if she loved Tony, if she loved Roy, all she was sure off was that she was happy.

"I need to go Abby. Gibbs would be in any second and he would cross me if I am not on my desk."

"Crucify, Ziva. The word is crucify." Abby trailed away and smiled.

"Yeah that too."

"Congratulations Ziva, I am really happy for you."

"But…"

"But my advice to you is to take it easy and kind of sort out where you and Tony stand."

"I will Abby, thanks."

* * *

Ziva stepped in to the elevator, and on her way up to the office she took her ring off. She wasn't ready to tell the rest of the team that she was getting married, but most of all she wasn't ready to tell Tony.


	4. Oh Boy

**Hey guys! First of all thank you so much for the reviews. I'm really happy that you like my story. Secondly, I want to apologize for not updating for such a long time. University and work has taken me away from my laptop. I promise I will try to update sooner, but I have to say I do not really know where this story is heading to. If you have suggestions feel free to tell me:))Please review and enjoy:))**

**xoxo LT**

**Disclaimer...I do not own NCIS, the characters, nothing, I just own an imagination.**

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**Oh boy!**

The doors of the elevator slid open again, and the tall figure of L.J. Gibbs walked out, having a steaming cup of coffee in his hand, as usually. He walked towards his desk looking at his agents. Yes he saw them as being his children, and even if he would never admit it, he loved each and every one of them in his way. Tony was the oldest from all 4 children he had. Macho, good looking, arrogant sometimes, but he had a golden heart and he was the most loyal and competent person he knew. The next child in line was Ziva, the assassin. Mysterious, secretive, aggressive sometimes, but she knew how to handle Tony and she was feared by at least half on NCIS. He could only smile every time she threatened Tony with a paper clip or other office utility. Then there was McGee, the genius when it came to computers, the writer, and the probie. He knew that McGee could do so much more then just type on his computer but he was always in the shadow because of Tony and Ziva. Finally his youngest, his pride and joy, Abby. She could scare a person to death with her black clothes, make-up and her many tattoos, but to him she was just an adorable child that had to be spoiled.

He could already hear the discussion between Tony and Ziva and again he smiled.

"Oh shut up Tony! This is none of your business." She said

"Yes it is. You are my partner and I need to know where you spend your free time." he replied

"Why?"

"Tony I think her private life is her private life so let her be."

"On which side are you probie?"

"Judging by the fact that she can kill me with a stapler, I think I would say, Ziva's side."

She laughed, Tony mumbled something and Gibbs was trying not to laugh. That was his family, and he hated what he was about to say and ruin the fun they had.

"Gear up! Marines son missing."

Tony mumbled something, McGee was looking for his iPhone and Ziva grabbed her backpack. Ziva and Tony walked side by side to the elevator and Tony trailed away.

"So where were we Zee-vha?"

"I believe we were at the part of you shutting up before I torture you."

"You're no fun!"

"I beg to differ."

By the time they started arguing again, the elevator doors closed and they both received a slap on the back of the head, while McGee was laughing in the background.

"You two cut it our, for peach's sake." Gibbs began…"And if you don't cut it out McGee you'll get one as well."

The elevator went quiet but all were trying not to burst in to laughter again. Gibbs's face was serious but the other three agents knew that the Boss-man was having a good day, and all of them were silently thanking the director who had managed to make out of Gibbs a bearable man.

* * *

They had arrived to the Calloway house, only to find an angry marine and a crying mother.

Gibbs walked up to Lt. Calloway and exchanged a few words with him, then turning back to the team and ordering:

"McGee, take photos of Nicholas's bedroom, Tony question the mother, Ziva, look for fingerprints."

All three nodded and went straight away to work, while Gibbs headed towards the kitchen. Lt. Calloway silently gave Gibbs an envelope, and began:

"When we came home from the mall, I noticed that the front door was not properly closed. I have looked it before we went shopping, because Nicholas had returned from school and fell asleep before we left the house. I told Mary to wait for me and then I went in to the house, checked every room and when I got upstairs I found Nick's room empty but a note was posted on the screen of his computer."

Gibbs unfolded the note and read it, having a glom expression. _"When I decide what I want, I call you. Until then the boy stays with me."_

Then he heard Ziva's voice, yelling from the upper floor:

"Gibbs! You have to see this."

Gibbs rushed up the stairs with Lt. Calloway after him. He reached the boy's room in a few seconds and saw a towel having large blood stains blood that had not completely dried yet.

"McGee, bag it and then put it in the truck and send it to Abby."

Meanwhile Mrs. Calloway had reached her son's room and after seeing the blood stained towel she began crying again. Tony tried to pull her away out of the room, but she angrily turned to her husband and said "This is your fault. If my son dies because of you, I will kill you with my own two hands." She then marched out of the room, crying and Tony quickly followed her.

"Care to tell e what your wife meant by that lieutenant?" Gibbs asked.

"I have no idea what she means agent Gibbs. I swear I don't know what I did." The replay came.

Gibbs looked at him, trying to get the truth out of him, but Calloway's facial expression did not change under Gibbs's look. His gut told him that something was wrong here and he needed to have a little chat with Mrs. Calloway after she had calmed down.

McGee and Ziva had finished processing the evidence and were leaving the room and Gibbs wanted to follow them, when Lt. Calloway put a hand in his shoulder.

"Agent Gibbs, I really have no idea what my wife is talking about, but you have to believe me I would never put my son's life in danger. Please find him."

Gibbs didn't say anything, just left the room.

* * *

They had reached NCIS and Gibbs decided to bring Abby a Caf-Pow. He knew that when it came to children, Abby went into overdrive and would not sleep until the little boy was found. The doors of the elevator opened and Gibbs prepared to hear the Goth's loud music but instead he was greeted by silence. He saw her looking at her computer intensely and after a few seconds he asked:

"Abby what are you doing?"

"Gibbs!!" she said and quickly turned around.

She saw the Caf-Pow he was holding in his hands and her face was glowing with delight. Having Gibbs and her coffee in the same room was a true blessing.

"I was just trying to mentally rush my computer. I mean we have a missing little boy here. Although I really don't understand how his parents could have left a 10 year old home alone. I mean it's normal for some families but still he is to young and sleeping and on top of everything…"

"Abby!"

"Sorry Gibbs!" she apologized looking intensely at the Caf-Pow he was still holding in his hand. Gibbs noticed her look and couldn't stop a smirk. He gave her the coffee and she hugged him yet again, happily sucking on her straw again.

"Abby, do you have something for me?" he softly asked.

"Not really Gibbs, that's why I was mentally rushing my computer because I knew you would come by any minute."

Gibbs was preparing to leave the lab, when Abby spoke again.

"I said I don't have anything yet, but I still have some news for you."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow and looked at her, hoping that Abby had something related to the case, and not another story of McGee getting his head glued to his desk.

"Well, do you want to know?" she angelically asked.

"You know I do Abby, and hurry up, before I lose my patients and head-slap you."

"Gibbs! You wouldn't!? Would you?" she inquired.

Gibbs gave her another look and wanted to leave the lab.

"OK, OK! I'll tell you. Ziva is getting married."

Gibbs looked at her and the only thing he said was

"I'll kill them both for breaking my rules. When are David and DiNozzo ever going to learn?"

"No! No! Gibbs you got it all wrong. Ziva is marrying her boyfriend Roy, but I think she is not sure about it. I mean c'mon Gibbs you know as well as I do that Tony and Ziva are a perfect match, and yet she is marrying another guy and I really think in fact she loves Tony. What are we going to do Gibbs?" she spoke.

The silence settled between them, while Gibbs was trying to process the information. He would never admit it, but Abby was right about Tony and Ziva. They were perfect for each other, and Ziva getting married to another guy was not something that he was to happy about.

"Nothing Abby. It is here decision and we can't interfere, and in a way it is better like this. If Ziva and Tony were a couple they could not keep it out of the office and that would interfere with their work." Gibbs lectured, although he knew that those two were the most competent agents he got and that their job came before anything else.

"That's not true Gibbs. I mean me and McGee can keep it out of the office and look how well everything is working." She trailed away, but after a few seconds she realized what she just did. She confessed to Gibbs that she and McGee had broken one of the most secret rules he had. Gibbs was shocked, and couldn't find the proper words. After a few minutes, that seemed like decades for Abby he finally came closer to her, and head-slapped her. "If he hurts you, I will kill him." He articulated and then left the lab.

* * *

Gibbs walked to the bullpen with a cup of coffee in his hand. He passed McGee and head slapped him harder then usual.

"What was that for?" he asked while rubbing the back of his head.

"For breaking rule number 12 McGee."

Tim went pale and looked at his boss. He couldn't, she wouldn't, they had managed to keep it outside the office, away from Gibbs away from everybody and now she told Gibbs.

In the mean time, Ziva and Tony had come closer to the two men.

"Probie, you're getting laid? Who's the unhappy lady?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

"Abby!" Ziva replied, and all three men turned to her.

"You knew?" All three asked at the same time, and Ziva laughed.

"Honestly, men are so dumb sometimes. Do you really think that friends don't tell each other important things, like dating a coworker?" She grinned and walked away from them.

Tony quickly walked up to her desk and looked at her.

"I am deeply hurt Ziva. From all people here, you couldn't have told me about this."

"The point of a secret Tony is that it remains a secret."

"Yeah but c'mon Ziva! Probie getting laid, although this thought is very disturbing it is still big news. And on top of everything with Abby. I am very hurt."

"Tony, I did not want to spread the news, because Abby asked me not to. But it seems the pussy is out of the bag."

Tony couldn't suppress a grin and automatically corrected her;" The cat's out the bag Ziva, not the pussy."

"Same difference." She replies.

"Poor Abby. She must be one unhappy Goth with McGee."

"I assure you Tony, Abby is _very _happy." She replied emphasizing the word very.

Tony looked at her, shook his head and walked away only, to head slap McGee and then return to his desk.

Ziva could hear mumbles coming from his desk _"Probie getting laid…Ziva knowing…Abby happy…Ziva's getting some….Gibbs is getting some…Something's wrong here."_

She couldn't stop a smile, and turned back to her work, when Gibbs passed her by and yelled:"Ziva my office. NOW!"

Both men looked up from their computer and Ziva was more then confused. She stood up and walked towards the elevator. Once inside, Gibbs waited for the doors to close and the elevator to move, and then hit the emergency button. He turned around in the dark and looked at her.

* * *

"I guess I have to congratulate you." he finally spoke.

Ziva looked at him and after a while softly spoke, but Gibbs could detect a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"I knew I should have threatened to kill her. She can never hold on to a secret."

"Why did you not tell me Ziva? You did say yes, right?"

"I did Gibbs."

"Are you having second thoughts?" he cautiously asked.

"No." she replied but something in her voice seemed to say the exact opposite.

"Ziva, don't lie to me."

"Gibbs I don't know what I want, but I know that I have somebody who will stick by me, who can give me security and..."She stopped and looked at Gibbs. She couldn't say the L word she just couldn't, because she did not know if she really lover Roy.

"It seems you forgot one important thing Ziva. Love." He spoke.

"C'mon Gibbs you were married three times before."

"I married four times Ziva. First time I got love and I had everything I wanted, I lost that and I remarried three times but every time with the illusion of having love. The woman I could get the love that I wanted I never married."

"It's never to late Gibbs. You usually find her in MTAC." She responded with a smirk on her face.

"Don't get smart with me David. What are you going to do?"

"Get married Gibbs. At one point Roy and I will get married, I just don' know when."

"Have you spoken to Tony about this?"

"Why does everybody keep telling me that I have to talk to Tony about this?"

"Because I see how he looks at you and how you look at him."

"I have followed your rule, do not date a coworker, and when I wanted to break the rule he pushed me away. I am tiered of this cat and mouse game. He had so many chances, and on top of everything he lied to me. He had been together with Jeanne for such a long time, and yet he had not trusted me enough to tell me the truth."

"You know he couldn't and he didn't want to put you in danger."

"Gibbs I am a trained assassin, you really think I needed to be protected? He did not trust me and that hurts the most."

"Be honest Ziva. Have you told him that Ari was your brother?"

"Gibbs that's something different. Ari killed a beloved coworker, and Tony himself said that he wants my brother dead the first time we met. I doubt he would have been too happy to find out that my brother killed Kate."

Silence covered the tight space, but you could feel the tension between the two. Finally Gibbs switched on the emergency button and told her." If I were you I would reconsider the marriage. Clear things out with Tony and see if marrying Roy is what you really want."

The elevator doors slid open and Gibbs walked back to his desk. Ziva on the other hand went down to Abby's lab. She needed to have a serious conversation about privacy with her.

* * *

A/N. P.s. I kind of have in mind a sequel for What have I done...One thing I can tell you, starting with May, you are going to see a lot more of me:))


	5. Departure and Uncertainty

**I'm back:)) Told you that you would be seeing more of me now...I will actually try to update on a daily basis, but I will not promise it...Here is the next chapter. Thank you very much for your patients, support and reviews, and thank you its.intoxicating and ncisgirl101 for the ideas. I will change them, but somewhere along the line you will be able to spot your recommendations:))**

**Enjoy and review.**

**xoxo LT**

* * *

**Departure and uncertainty**

ABIGAIL SCIUTO!! The angered voice of Ziva David thundered through out the whole lab.

Abby dropped the folder she was holding on to the floor and said out loud "Oh oh!!" She turned around and became instantly red while Ziva was looking at her with a mixture of amusement and anger.

"Hey Ziva" Abby started…"You look…not very happy."

"That might have something to do with the fact, that _my best friend_ told _my boss_ that I'M GETTING MARRIED!!" she screamed the last part out.

Abby quickly closed her eyes hoping that she could hide the guilt, fear and shame away from Ziva.

"I…I…I thought maybe Gibbs could give you some advice. I mean you were so undeceives when it came to Roy."

"Abby I was very decided. I decided to marry Roy, end of discussion. What were you thinking in telling Gibbs that I'm getting married?" She spoke out loud a little softer.

"I'm sorry Ziva, but I needed to consult someone about this." The forensic scientist responded.

"Then you should have asked McGee and not Gibbs, or maybe Palmer, or Ducky, but not Gibbs." The replay came.

"C'mon Ziva, you know that Gibbs only wants the best for you. Why do you think it's such a bad thing that he knows?" She tried to mend the problem and calm Ziva down at the same time.

"Because now, he is going to watch my every move, ask me if I made a decision, and I don't want that."

"Ziva you know he will never do that."

"He doesn't really have to ask Abby, he just has to look at me and he will already know that I haven't sorted out my problem." Ziva responded hysterically

"Ziva now you are overreacting. Look I'm really sorry that I told Gibbs, but don't you feel better now that he knows?"

"No…well yes in a way. But Abby promise me that you will not say a word to anybody about this, not even to McGee." The Mossad assassin said, a little calmer.

"Relax Ziva, I am not going to tell anybody anything. It's not like I can't control myself and run to Tony and tell him that…"

"Tell me what Abs?" the voice of Tony DiNozzo echoed in the lab.

Both women froze and looked at him. Panic was clearly visible both on the Mossad officers and on Abby's face. None of them knew how much Tony had overheard of the conversation.

"Tell me what?" he asked again.

"Nothing!" both said at the same time.

Ziva's face turned red and she quickly moved towards the door. Tony looked at her, clearly intrigued by the mystery. Ziva almost jumped inside the elevator, and before the doors closed Abby and Tony could clearly hear "Not a word!"

After Ziva had left he lab, Tony tuned to face Abby, and an evil grin covered his face.

"Well Abs, it seems it's just you and me." He began.

"Well Tony I have a lot of work, sorry. We need to find little Nick." She nervously tried to get rid of Tony.

"That can wait Abby. What did I just walk in to, hm? What were you and Ziva talking about?"

"Nothing interesting Tony, we were, ahm…talking bout nail polish, yeah that's it, nail polish."

"Abby why are you lying? C'mon, it's me."

"Yeah, that's the problem." She muttered.

"Abby I want to know. What are you and the crazy ninja chick up to?"

"Sorry Tony, I can't tell you. Ziva would have my head if I told you."

"Abby, it's me, Tony; you know I can keep a secret."

"No you can't Tony and you are not going to get a thing out of me. She quickly and firmly exhaled…Now leave me alone, I have work to do."

She turned to her computer screen and hoped that Tony would go away. He looked at her back, more intrigued then before. Something was up and by all means he had to find out what it was. He just knew it was something that involved Ziva. He turned around and headed back to the squad room, while Abby breathed relieved that he had given up and left the lab.

"_What the hell is going on between those two?"_ Tony thought in the elevator. He would have to get Ziva alone at one point and ask her what was up. Something told him that whatever she was hiding would not make him to happy.

* * *

The day passed quickly, and the team was stuck with the case. There was no lead, nothing, and time was at the essence. Gibbs was like a wild bull, storming in and out of the office, going up to MTAC, or for another coffee refill.

The other three team members of the team were checking out Calloway's past, so they might find out, why his wife had threatened to kill him. In the mean time, Tony was shooting glares at Ziva, trying to notice anything that would solve the mystery. Ziva could feel his gaze but was trying her best to ignore him. They had spoken hardly, and she was content with this situation. Although the silence was uncomfortable between them she would expect him to ask something any minute now.

"What have we gotten so far?" Gibbs asked walking in the office, with the so ever present coffee cup.

"Boss, I have looked into Lt. Calloway's phone records. He has been making phone calls to one particular phone number. It seems that three weeks ago he had called one number about a dozen times in one hour." McGee said and put the phone record on the plasma screen.

"Who's number is it McGee?" Gibbs question came.

"It belongs to a woman, named Amanda Byers" Tony answered quickly.

"She is intelligence, and has cooperated with Calloway for about one year." Ziva added.

"DiNozzo, David bring her in." Gibbs barked.

"On it boss." Tony said, while grabbing his gear and practically running after Ziva.

* * *

The drive to Amanda's place was uncomfortable for both agents. None of them spoke; none of them knew what they should say. Tony wanted to ask Ziva more then anything in the world what she was hiding but something told him that it would be better if she would not touch the subject. Ziva was afraid of the question, at the same knowing it will come up eventually but she was not ready to tell him that she was getting married. Something told her that it was not good for Tony to know, their relationship would have a great deal to suffer if he knew that she got engaged..

After twenty five minutes of painful silence they had finally arrived at Amanda Byers house. They both walked up to the pink porch.

"How can a house be this pink? I mean the woman works for intelligence for apples sake." She finally spoke.

"Peach sakes Ziva not apple." He automatically corrected.

"Whatever."

He rang the doorbell, and after a few seconds the door opened. A blond woman, with blue eyes answered and was looking quizzically at the two agents. She was dressed in a pink robe, but it was so short that it exposed a perfect view to her slender legs. Ziva noticed that Tony was checking the woman up.

"Officer Ziva David, NCIS…flashing her badge…And this drooling male next to me is my partner Agent DiNozzo."

Tony snapped out of his trance and shot Ziva a sharp glare. He hated it when she was sarcastic and now was not the time to make him look like an idiot.

"What is this all about?" Amanda asked worried.

"Please get dressed and escort us back to NCIS. We need to ask you a few questions." Tony added.

The woman looked at them, more puzzled then before.

"I'll be right down. Give me please 10 minutes, and please come in." she said and then disappeared inside.

Tony and Ziva walked inside the house and looked around. Pictures of her and her coworkers were scattered all over the walls of the room. A few pictures of the man both agents assumed to be the husband, but the most interesting picture was of her and Lt. Calloway. He was holding her waist and smiling happily towards the camera. Ziva showed Tony the picture and then exchanged a glare. It was obvious that Amanda and Calloway worked very closely together.

"Ziva why did you have to say that?" Tony asked finally.

"Say what?" she asked and looked away.

"You know outside, about the drooling."

"Well Tony it's the truth, you were checking her up."

"I was not." He argued fiercely.

"Tony, I was trained by Mossad. Do you actually think that I do not understand when a man looks at a woman, and is very close to jumping on her."

"Whoa Ziva! I was not jumping on her nor did I want to."

"Yes Tony keep telling yourself that." She smirked and passed him by, looking around.

A few minutes later Amanda came rushing down the stairs. She wore a blue tunica and a pair of tight jeans with high heels. She did not have any make-up on, and her face was very pale. She looked like she was very close to collapsing. Ziva noticed her appearance and something clicked in her mind. The woman had something to hide and Ziva could bet her Mini that it had something to do with Lt. Calloway.

* * *

Amanda remained alone in the conference room, while Gibbs was at his desk checking Amanda's file.

Suddenly the doors opened and Roy walked into the office area.

"Agent Gibbs, Tony, McGee." He said and nodded while looking at Ziva, who shot up from her chair and was trying to pull him away.

"I hope this time your visit does not have anything to do with the fact that you are being poised again, Roy." Gibbs said with a grin on his face.

"Hehe! No agent Gibbs, I just came to talk to Ziva for 10 minutes. I will bring her back I promise."

"David you have 15 minutes." Gibbs said, while studying her face.

She was tense and she did not like having Gibbs, Tony and Roy in the same room, while her secret was hovering over them.

She and Roy went out of the desk area, but they were visible for the others. Roy kissed Ziva and then said:

"Hey you! Missed me?"

"You know I have Roy." She replied.

"You guys have a case."

"Yes a missing boy, and something regarding the father."

'Any leads?" he asked with concern.

"Nothing concrete yet. But you did not come all the way to the Navy yard to ask me about work. What is going on Roy?" she asked suspiciously

"Hey can't a guy come over and surprise his bride to be?" he asked and smiled.

"Roy." She said softly, but with a slight sign of annoyance,

"Ok, ok. I have some bad news."

"Roy, are you all right? Are you feeling well?" she inquired concerned.

"Yes I am all right, it's just…"

"Just what?"

"I need to leave for Iran, for two months."

She absorbed the information, and couldn't understand why she didn't feel sad. She was not going to see Roy for two months.

"But why Roy?" she asked after a few seconds.

"Well it seems the Iran has started to build two more nuclear power plants and we were not informed. Plus we are supposed to inspect the other ones." He explained calmly, looking at her and fighting the urge of taking her into the nearest broom closet. Even the fact that she hadn't slept enough and that she was in desperately need of coffee, did not diminish her beauty. She looked sexy and he wanted her.

"Can't somebody else go?"

"The guy that was supposed to go instead of me can't go anymore. His wife had a baby earlier this week and he wants to spend some time with his family."

She looked at him and breathed loudly, looking sad although she did not feel sad, on the contrary she felt relieved. _"What's wrong with me? My future husband is leaving for two months and I don't even feel depressed?"_ She thought.

He looked at her and grabbed her hand, looking at her hands. Suddenly he noticed that she was not wearing her engagement ring,

"Why are you not wearing the ring Ziva? Don't you like it?" he asked, with sadness in his eyes.

"Don't be naïve Roy. I love it, but it's a little hard to go to a crime scene with a sapphire ring on your hand." She said irritated.

"Have you told the team all ready?" he trailed away.

"Roy…"

"Ok, ok I'll stop."

"When are you leaving?" she inquired

"In 4 hours."

"What? And you cared to inform me only now?' she said harshly.

"Wow Ziva, I just found out an hour ago and I came straight to the NCIS to tell."

"I'm sorry Roy. I'm just tiered and upset that you're leaving." She lied.

She was not feeling upset at all and that worried her.

"_Maybe Abby's right. Could it be? Could Gibbs have been right when he told me that I don't love Roy?"_ she asked herself.

He hugged her and kissed her on the forehead and then kissed her lips passionately. She responded, but not as eager as she intended. Ziva was confused of her feelings and she did not know how to respond to this whole situation.

"I need to get going. I have some stuff to pack and then get my ass on that plane." He said and let out a small laugh.

"Be careful Roy."

"I will. In the mean time, you start thinking about the wedding."

"I will Roy, I promise."

He kissed her again and then left.

Tony saw the whole scene. Although he couldn't hear a think they were talking, he felt weird. He felt jealous and couldn't understand how Roy could have gotten so lucky. Ziva was lying in Roy's arms every night, she cooked for him, she spent time with him, and she was his.

Gibbs had noticed the whole scene, and by the way it looked, Ziva and Roy were saying goodbye each other. Roy looked like the most miserable guy on the face of the planet and on the same time in love, while Ziva looked like she always dose. It was clear to him now, Ziva did not love Roy. She cared for him a great deal but she did not love him, and he had to agree with Abby, if she married Roy she would make a big mistake.

In the mean time he had observed Tony as well. The senior field agent looked jealous and it seemed that he developed some other feeling then friendship. He had to agree with Abby once more, those two were meant for each other and if Ziva would marry Roy, Tony would become a different man, he would become bitter, he would become like him.


	6. What am I going to do?

**Well, it's not a daily update, but it's sooner then last time:))...Thank you once again for the reviews, I'm so happy that you like it:)) This is the next chapter, enjoy and review:p**

**xoxo LT**

* * *

**What am I going to do?**

Once back behind her desk, Ziva was desperately trying to ignore the looks she was getting from her team colleagues. She could feel how Tony was studying her, but she was relieved that Gibbs and McGee had backed-up and did not stare at her anymore. His facial expression fluctuated from curiosity, to concern, to sadness. At one point she had seen something in his face that she had never seen before at him.

His curiosity had won the inner battle, and agent Anthony DiNozzo was about to ask the question when the rugged voice of Gibbs was heard: "DiNozzo don't you have work to do? Leave Ziva alone and get back to work."

"Right boss. Working." He replayed and looked back at his computer screen, but he couldn't help peeking at her once in a while. She did not seem upset; she actually looked puzzled about something. Tony hoped deep down that he would be able to get her alone at one point. His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of Gibbs cell phone. The conversation was shot and he was practically running up to MTAC.

At last, his chance of finding out, what was wrong with Ziva.

"So Ziva. Tell me, what did you and lover boy talk about?" he said with a smirk.

She ignored him and continued to write something on a piece of paper.

"I hope he did not dump you." he trailed away with a grin on his face.

"No he has not. Don't you have work to do DiNozzo, or do you want me to slap you stupid?"

"Silly Ziva. Slap you silly, and no thank you I think Gibbs does a wonderful job at that." He replied.

She chuckled and looked at him. "Why are you so curious Tony about my love life?"

"Because, it seems fair to me that if I tell you about my love life you tell me about yours."

"You did not tell me about Jeanne, why should I tell you about Roy."

Tony's smile disappeared, and he could clearly notice that she has not forgiven him yet about that.

"That was different Ziva…he began…Jeanne was an assignment, which I had to keep secret. I needed to protect the team from harm. I told you that already" He tried to explain.

"Tony, the team is capable to take care of them selves; I am capable to take care of myself." She responded a little too harsh.

Tony looked away and started to act busy. He did not want to fight with her, and he did not want to pick up this subject again. They had fought so often in the past because of Jenny's stupid assignment.

* * *

**Flashback**

_Tony's apartment a couple of weeks after Jeanne had left. Ziva was sitting on the couch with him, sipping on her wine, while Tony was drinking a beer._

"_Tony, I know we avoided this conversation long enough, but please this time don't avoid my question. Why did you not tell me about Jeanne?" she had asked slowly._

"_Ziva, I don't want to talk about this." He replied._

"_But you have to Tony. I have given you time, but I want an answer. We are friends, yes?"_

"_Yes we are friends Ziva."_

"_Then why did you not tell me? Do you trust me that little?"_

"_C'mon Ziva. No fair, you know it's not like that."  
"Then how is it Tony? Tell me!"_

"_Ziva can we drop this conversation and enjoy the movie."_

_She put her glass on the table and stood up to leave._

"_What are you doing?"_

"_Leaving. What do you think I'm doing?"_

"_Why?"_

"_Because you are not able to trust me, even after your assignment has ended. There is no point in me sitting here next to you, seeing a movie, when you are not even able to confide in me."_

_He had jumped up the couch and moved towards her._

"_Ziva come on, don't be like this. You know I trust you."_

"_No Tony, I don't know."_

"_Hey didn't I tell you about the sperm bank?"_

"_That was something else."_

"_How was it something else? And by the way, you haven't exactly been Miss Open up yourself."_

"_Yes Tony but you really don't want to hear about my past. The things I did and what I have seen."_

"_You don't know that Ziva. You did not open up to me as well. You always hide behind your "I'm fine" mask and not reveal anything. Sometimes I really feel you have no soul, and that people are right that you are a heartless killer."_

_He could see the pain in her eyes, how his words hurt her, but he didn't care anymore, he wanted to hurt her for some reason. She said nothing and turned around, trying to hide the tears, which were on the verge of flooding her cheeks. Ziva walked out of the apartment, not even looking back to see Tony's regretful face._

**End of Flashback**

It still hurt him when he thought back at that night. He had hurt her so bad, that she had barely spoken to him for one week. Tony had never seen her so hurt by his words. She would occasionally get upset by his stupid remarks, but she was really hurt that time.

* * *

"Gear up!" Gibbs barked…"Our kidnapper contacted the Calloway's"

The three younger agents hurried up to catch on to Gibbs, as he marched to the elevator.

Thirty minutes later they had arrived at the Calloway house, and the two younger male agents were feeling sick, because Ziva had been driving. When Gibbs had said they needed to hurry up, McGee and Tony had never imagined that Gibbs would let Ziva drive. They had seen their life's flashing by.

Once inside the Calloway house, they were confronted again with a crying Mrs. Calloway and it was up to Ziva to calm her down. Lt. Calloway and the three NCIS agents stepped in to the kitchen. Lt. Calloway was extremely pale and told them that at 2100 hours he got a phone call from a robotic voice telling his wife that the boy is still alive, but losing blood from his head wound. The voice added that Nick will remain untreated until he gets what he wants and then hung up the phone. They all listened to the story Calloway told them and then Gibbs pulled the other two agents aside.

"McGee, put a tracking device on the phone. DiNozzo, you and David will spend the night here, making sure that the Calloway's are fine and try to find out more about Lt. Calloway's past."

"Should I stay as well boss?" McGee asked.

"Yes, stay as well, but I want you at NCIS at 0700 hours."

McGee headed towards the car to get his gear, while Tony pulled Ziva away from Mrs. Calloway.

"What's our situation?" she asked

"The kidnapper called, but did not state its demands. Gibbs told us to stay here overnight and monitor the house, and try to find out more about Calloway's past."

She nodded and he added with a grin " Cheer up Zee-vha, you will spend a lovely evening with me and we can catch up."

He could notice that her face became a littler paler and he was sure now, that she was hiding something from him.

* * *

The evening progressed quietly. Ziva had spent most of her time trying to get Mrs. Calloway to calm down and maybe give her some information. Tony had bombarded Calloway with questions, but he could see that Calloway was doing his best to dodge the most direct questions. Ziva had avoided Tony all night, but once in a while their eyes would cross, and he was trying to read in to her soul.

Mrs. Calloway had went to bed around 1 a.m. and Lt. Calloway had gone to his study with a bottle of scotch soon after. By 3 a.m. McGee was asleep on the couch and Ziva was still avoiding Tony. He finally came up to her and handed her a cup of coffee.

"Here I think you need this." He plainly stated.

"Toda." She smiled weekly and took the cup from his hand. He slid down on the floor next to her. They both stayed in silence, but it was an uncomfortable silence. Finally Tony gathered his courage and spoke:

"Is Roy alright? "

"Yes, he is great." She replied and gave him half a smile.

"Ziva, what's up? Seriously, something is bothering you. Please tell me, you know I am here for you." he trailed away, and for the first time during the whole day, DiNozzo the joker was out of the picture and a kind, even caring Anthony DiNozzo was reveled. She even considered for a split second to tell him that she was engaged, but she pushed the thought away.

"It's nothing Tony, honestly, I'm fine."

"There we go again with I'm fine mask." He added sarcastically.

"Tony I'm really not in the mood for your jokes and your sarcasm." She added annoyed.

"I'm sorry." He replied, trying not to let the frustration from his voice be noticeable.

"Actually, no! I'm not sorry Ziva." He said, turning towards her, showing her the anger that was building up.

Her face revealed shock, but she narrowed her eyes, and in low tone said "Say that again Tony."

I'm not sorry Ziva. I'm sick of you still being upset with me about Jeanne, I'm sick of these conversations whew Jeanne and the whole entire mission is mentioned."

"Tony I really don't understand you any more. We had the Jeanne conversation and you made it perfectly clear that you don't trust me. We were fine and now you suddenly want to find all about my life. Why the sudden interest?"

"It's not sudden Zee-vha, I just want to help."

"You don't have to help, and you can't. How can you help me with the fact that Roy is for two months in Iran?" she finally snapped. He had the gift to make her angry, but she felt so safe with him, so natural, and she had the impression she could drop her armor when he was around. This was never possible with Roy, but with Tony it was different. Still she did not want to open up to him, because she was a private person, and she still felt hurt because of the La Grenouille story.

He looked at her, and then hugged her tightly. She was surprised, but at the same time it felt so natural, it felt so right. These thoughts confused Ziva more. She inhaled his smell and buried her head in his neck, hoping that he would never let go of her.

He had her in his arms, he couldn't believe it. The Mossad assassin was actually letting him hug her, and she was clinging on to him, like he was her saver. She smelled wonderful, she smelled like jasmine even after a long day at NCIS and out in the field. Tony felt his heart beat faster, like it was ready to jump out of his chest. She finally broke up the hug and walked away from him, more confused then ever. He felt empty after she walked away, like she had fitted perfectly in his arms and in his heart. But she belonged to another man, she would never be his and this was killing him.

Suddenly the sound of smashing glass woke him up from his day dreaming, and then he heard Ziva yell. He didn't even notice what happen, he just saw Ziva, run out the front door. He jumped back on his feet, and he drew his gun out and followed Ziva out in the darkness.

"Ziva were are you?" he yelled

He could hear somebody running, and then he heard the gun shot.

"ZIVA!!" he yelled and started running in the direction where he heard the gunshot.

"Where are you Ziva?"

Another shot and then Tony heard her yell "You bastard!"

He continued running and after two blocks he saw them, a man lying on the ground, while Ziva was holding him down with her knees. Her right arm clutched her left arm, and Tony could see the reflection of the light in the liquid on her arm.

He got to her, and saw that the man as trying to move to escape. Tony hit him over the head, and knocked him unconscious. He looked at Ziva and drew his phone from his pocket.

"Boss, we have something. A guy was delivering something to the Calloway's."

"_I'll be right over."_

"Boss, bring Ducky with you."

"_Why? Is anybody hurt?"_

"Yeah, the bastard shot Ziva."

The live went dead.


	7. I wish I could lay down and die

**Hello:)) I'm back with another chapter...Inspiration struck me, so I thought I should update again:))...Next chapter is almost done, and if I don't fall asleep with my head on the key bored tonight, you will have it by tomorrow...Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews, you guys make me continue writing. Ok enough talk, here is the next chapter. Enjoy**

**P.S. read and review please:))**

**xoxo LT**

* * *

**I wish I could lay down and die**

Tony looked impatient at his watch, waiting for Gibbs and Ducky to arrive. He and Ziva had not spoken yet, and he was worried, because she did not move away from the suspect, who by the way was still unconscious. He came closer to her, trying to see her face, but she was covering the light, hiding so her face.

"Ziva can I take a look please?" he finally asked.

"Don't worry Tony, it's just a scratch, the bullet only passed next to me, not really hit me." She responded, but her voice seemed shaky.

"Zee-vha, you wouldn't be bleeding that bad if it were just a scratch. Now let me take a look."

"Tony, I told you, everything is fine. I just need to lie down, once Gibbs is here and takes our suspect away."

"Ziva c'mon, I can help." He trailed away.

She was about to say something, when she heard Gibbs's voice.

"DiNozzo move away and let Ducky inspect her."

"There is no need for Ducky here. I am perfectly fine." She said in a high pitched tone.

"David shut up and let Ducky take care of you." He said and then looked at her, while she was still on top of the suspect.

"NOW David!" he barked.

She reluctantly stood up and walked up to Ducky.

"Ducky I am fine, really." She tried again.

"I'll be the judge of that Ziva my dear. Now sit and let me take a look at your wound." He said and Gibbs and Tony could clearly hear her swear in Hebrew.

"DiNozzo what the hell happened here?" Gibbs began.

"Ziva and I were talking, she walked away and then I heard the shattering of glass and saw her running out the door. I went outside looking for her and I heard a gunshot, and shortly after another one. I heard her swear and the rest is history." He spoke.

"Ziva my dear hold still." They heard Ducky say.

"Please Ducky, honestly I am well." The response came.

Both men walked over to the NCIS van where Ducky was trying to fix Ziva .

"What do we got Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"Gibbs you always say this to Ducky when there is a body involved and I am alive and perfectly fine." She said, shooting Ducky and him a poised look.

"How is she Ducky?" he corrected.

"Thank you." she replied half amused half angry.

"Well Jethro, indeed the bullet only scratched her arm."

Ziva was shooting them a triumphal glare.

"However…Ducky added…The bullet scratch was deeper and it did enough damage. For now my dear you need to rest and in a few days you will back on your feet. The wound is clean now and you shouldn't worry about anything." He added giving her an encouraging smile.

"Ziva go home and get some sleep…" Gibbs began but was interrupted by Ziva's protest.

"Gibbs I am staying. There is a lot to do and the suspect needs to be interrogated."

"The suspect is not going any where and you need to sleep so you can get back to the office in the morning."

"But…"

"No buts. DiNozzo, take her home and make sure she stays home. I want both of you to get back to NCIS at 0800 hours.

She was about to protest when Tony grabbed her healthy arm and dragged her out of there.

"Ziva you need to rest and I am going to make sure that you get some sleep. We will go to NCIS in the morning. We will go to my apartment."

"No Tony we go to mine, you can take clean cloths on the way to my place." She quickly added. Ziva had no idea why she had butterflies in her stomach. Was it maybe the fact that Tony slept over that made her feel all fuzzy inside?

* * *

They drove in silence, but Tony could still not forget the sound of the gunshot. It echoed in his mind, and he remembered that for a second his heart had stopped, assuming the worst. He was glad now that she was alright and he hoped that they would spend a nice evening together.

After stopping at Tony's apartment they had reached Ziva's house and she had gone to take a shower after he had put a plastic bag around her arm. The Italian had been struggling to cut the bag and put it over her wounded arm, and she has been laughing the whole time. He loved when she laughed; it was such a wonderful melodic sound. The only thing that he wanted is to hear her laugh, it made him happy.

* * *

She was in the shower and he walked trough the apartment he had been a million times. It was comfortable, with her piano in the living room, a small TV set and her nice couch. Next to the piano, on the wall were pictures. A picture of the team, one of her and Tali, her former Mossad team mates, and the picture he loved the most, of him and her. The picture had been taken by McGee when they were on a crime scene. They had been fighting over who was going to take the pictures of the crime scene, McGee had won and he and Ziva ended up laughing about McGee's expression when Ziva threatened to kill him with a tooth pick. It was strange, that there were no pictures of her and Roy but Tony preferred not to think about Ziva's boyfriend. Next to that picture Tony noticed that there was a brand new picture, one that he has not seen before. He got closer and took it off the wall. A man was holding Ziva in his arms and kissing her on her hair, while she was laughing. After a few minutes of studying the picture in disbelief, Tony felt anger overcoming him. The man, which was holding Ziva was none other then Ari Haswari, Kate's murderer. Hundreds of scenarios ran through his head but all of them made him angrier.

Ziva came out of the shower, pleased that she had the chance of washing her body after such a long day. She had stopped in the door frame and looked at Tony's decomposed face, and then she saw the picture he was looking at.

He had finally noticed her and the anger got stronger.

"Care to explain what this means?" he asked, his voice vibrating with anger.

She did not say anything just walked up to him and tried to take the picture out of his hand. He pulled away and held the picture over his head.

"Tony give me the picture." She hissed threatening.

"No Ziva. This needs an explanation, a good one." Pointing at the picture angrily.

"You don't need to know Tony, just give me the picture and drop it. It is none of your business."

"None of my business? Ziva this is a picture of you and a monster laughing and looking all in love." He went silence, and his expression went from anger to fury.

"I understand now. I know why you tried to protect him. He was your lover. You were not only his control office, you and Ari slept together." He spoke, his eyes sending lighting bolts towards her.

"Tony watch your language and give me the picture. I have told you, this is none of your business."

"So you admit it, Ari and you?"

"Tony it's complicated."

"No Ziva it's not complicated. How could you? You and this thing, I can't even call him a man."

"Tony I'm warning you, drop this subject and give me the damn picture."

She reached out, to grab his hand, but he was faster and grabbed her wounded arm, squeezing it and making her cry out in pain."

"Did he make you scream out in pleasure Ziva, did he? Did you two stay in bed after sex and talk about how fun it was to kill Kate? "He yelled, squeezing her arm tighter.

Suddenly she pulled herself from him, her bandage falling on the ground, her anger clearly visible.

"Get out of my apartment." She spoke in a low tone.

"I'm not going anywhere Ziva until I get an explanation." He replied.

"There is no point in me explaining anything to you. You are blinded by rage, and frankly I don't want to tell you, or explain myself."

He let out a sarcastic laugh and added "This actually proves that you and Ari were lovers."

"We were not lovers Tony." She replied angry, shooting him a deathly glare.

"Oh let me get this right. You were not lovers; you were just friends with benefits."

"_Plath!" _

The slap was loud and the silence deadly. Tony had never seen Ziva so angry.

"Agent DiNozzo leave my apartment right now or there will be consequences." She hissed.

He walked slowly towards the door and before walking out of the apartment he added in a tiered tone.

"I trusted you Ziva, I though we were friends, but I clearly see how wrong I was. You are the biggest disappointment possible and I have never felt so discussed in all my life. You sicken me. Good bye."

He slammed the door and a few minutes later she could hear the engine of the Mustang come to life. She let herself drop to the floor and started crying. At that moment she wished she could lay down and die, because she finally understood that she was not over Tony, she still loved Tony, but there was nothing that she could do anymore, she had lost the man she loved madly and she had lost a friend, she had lost the most important person in her life.


	8. Explanation to the DiNozzoDavid disaste

**Ok I couldn't help it, I just needed to post the next chapter...damn coffee is keeping me up all night:))...Anyway I hope you like this one...A little out of character (I think I a not really sure...you tell me) but I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it...I will update soon...R&R:))**

**xoxo LT**

* * *

**Explanation to the DiNozzo/ David disaster**

Tony drove in rage through the streets of Washington. He couldn't go to his apartment, he didn't want to go, and he was hoping that the drive would help him cool off. The fight he had with Ziva was playing inside of his head over and over again.

"_Ziva and Ari! Why? How could she lie to me, how could she lie to Gibbs? How could she do something like that?"_ he asked himself over and over again.

He felt anger, but above everything he felt pain inside, because he though of Ziva as being a correct woman, which would never do something like this, that would never be with such a monster. He was disappointed, he was sad and more then everything he felt his heat bleeding because he had realized how much he loves her. But love would never excuse her, there is no excuse for what she had done, and he would never trust her again.

* * *

Somehow his "footsteps" brought him to NCIS. He parked his car and went up to the office, hoping that there was nobody there. He would lie that he needs to check up on some evidence if somebody would ask him. The elevator doors opened and he saw that McGee was sleeping on his key bored. He passed him by and asked him quietly:

"Probie where is Gibbs?"

But there was no answer, just McGee's light snoring. Tony asked again a little louder and her saw that McGee shifted his body.

"Probie, is Gibbs in interrogation?"

"Aham." He moaned and then went back to snoring.

Tony smiled and made his way down to interrogation. Seeing Gibbs at work always calmed him down.

He entered the observation room and saw how the poor man was spilling his soul to Gibbs, and he couldn't suppress a smile. Yes Gibbs had this effect on people.

A few minutes later, the door of the observation room, swung open and Gibbs and his coffee walked in. He was surprised to see Tony, but then saw the look on his face, and immediately realized that something was not right.

"DiNozzo what the hell are you doing here? Is Ziva alright?" he asked.

"I have no idea how Ziva is and I don't care."

Gibbs narrowed his eyes and then looked at the guy handling the recording machines in the observation room.

"Derek, get out. Now!" he barked.

After the man had stepped out of the room, Gibbs walked closer to Tony and looked him in the eyes, threatening.

"What did you say Tony?"

"I said I don't know how she is and I don't care." He replied without blinking.

"What did you do DiNozzo? What happened?" he asked harshly.

"Why do you assume it's my fault boss?"

"You obviously had a fight and things got out of hand. Tell me what happened!"

"There is nothing to say boss. I found out that Ziva has been lying to me, to you, to the whole team."

"Tony, I'll be damned if I don't slap you silly, if you don't speak up and tell me what the hell happened." He hushed.

"She and Ari." He said with discussed.

"What about Ziva and Ari?" Gibbs asked, having a slight idea what might have occurred.

"I mean boss, she was protecting him, because he was her lover, or friend with benefits." He exhaled angry again.

"Oh no! Tony what did you say to her?" Gibbs asked tiered.

"I told her that I can't even look at her, that she sickens me, because she had slept with the man that killed Kate, she had slept and had protected a monster. I told her how much she discussed me, and I will never trust her again, and that she disappointed me."

"You IDIOT!" Gibbs yelled…"You have no idea what you did!"

"What?" he asked confused and a little insecure.

"Yes DiNozzo, you let your jealousy blind you; you let your feelings come in the way of your reasoning." The marine yelled on top of his lungs.

"I don't understand boss."

"Do you know who Ari really was? Do you?" he trailed away, grabbing Tony by the jacket.

"Yeah, he was her lo…"

"Wrong DiNozzo! Ari was her half-brother."

Tony let the information cover him. He then realized the gravity of the situation, and what he had done, but anger clouded his judgment once more.

"Why didn't she tell us? Why boss? I thought she changed in the three years she has been with NCIS, but no, not even after such a long time has she come clean."

"Tony! It's not like that." Gibbs spoke softly, and the fatigue was clearly noticeable.

"That night, in my basement when Ari wanted to kill me, it was not I who killed Ari, it had been Ziva, who pulled the trigger and executed him."

Tony was at lost of words, he couldn't believe it, he couldn't comprehend, how could he have been so wrong and how much damage he had done.

"Oh shit!" he said grabbing his head and then leaned his head against the cool glass of the observation room.

"She had killed her half-brother, the only person she had loved in this life, beside Tali, just to save my life. I decided to take the blame for her, because if her father had found out that she had killed Ari, Ziva would have been long dead."

"Yeah but boss, why didn't she tell us? I mean it couldn't harm the team if she would come clean, on the contrary, she would had been seen as a hero."

"Tony, she doesn't want to be seen as a hero, she doesn't want you and the others to know that Ari was related to her, because she understands the hate you all have against Ari and frankly she doesn't want to be seen as the sister of the monster. Plus there is always the threat of leakage of information and her father finding out the truth. In Mossad interrogation, I would be the only one capable to survive, because I have been interrogated before by different organizations and terrorist cells, I know how not to crack. You, McGee, Abby on the other hand is a different story, that's why we thought it would be safer for you to know that I had killed Ari and not Ziva.

"Boss, how could I have been so stupid?" he asked regretful.

"I don't know DiNozzo, but I think you did a lot of damage this time, and I don't know if she would forgive you too soon."

"I need to apologize." He stated, while walking towards the door.

"Leave her alone tonight DiNozzo. She needs to cool off. You will have the chance of apologizing tomorrow morning."

"Ok boss. Could you please do me a favor? Could you please call Ziva and see if she's alright. I'm sure she wont answer my calls." He softly spoke.

"Sure thing Tony. Go home and get some sleep and fix what you have done tomorrow. Good night." He said with a soft fatherly tone.

* * *

Tony left interrogation and Gibbs took out his cell phone.

At the fifth ring she finally answered.

"_David"_

He could clearly hear that she had been crying, and it broke his heart. He had seen Ziva cry only once, and he knew that she was suffering a lot.

"Are you alright Ziva?" he asked concerned.

"Yes Gibbs I am fine." She spoke, while sniffling.

"Ziva get some sleep and I'll see you at NCIS in the morning."

After a long pause she said "Yes Gibbs I will be there at 0800 hours."

He could notice that she was fighting the tears; he closed her eyes and softly spoke:

"Ziva don't cry I know he messed up, but he really cares."

"If you say so." She responded and it was clearer then ever that she was fighting the new set of tears.

"Sleep Ziva, and all will be well. Good night."

"Good night Gibbs and thank you." she softly spoke, and then the line went dead.

He closed his phone and exhaled loudly. Now he was sure that Ziva and Tony loved each other, but Ziva was too stubborn to give in to her feelings and DiNozzo was confused about his feelings, but there was no doubt in this world that these two were in love and that they needed each other. Ziva was Tony's oxygen and Tony was Ziva's reason for happiness. They were perfect for each other and none of them could be happy as long as they would not be together.


	9. The hurtful silence

**Here I am, with the next chapter, already working on the next one...I have a little thing called writers block...peachy, right?? Any suggestions are welcomed, and I hope you like this chapter. I have the impression it's a little OOC...you tell me:))...Thank you again for the wonderful reviews...Enjoy**

**xoxo LT**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, I own a laptop and my imagination:))**

* * *

**The hurtful silence**

She had walked in to the office, early that morning. Her arm was still hurting, but not as much as her heart was. After last night, she had found out that Tony had too much power over her feelings and that Roy was the best choice for her. He would never hurt her like that, because he will never find out about Ari. Her father had told her once that secrecy is the only way to stay alive. Once more, she had to admit that he was right. It would have speared her, the pain she was feeling, the anger towards Tony; it would have been so easy. She really had thought about telling him about Ari, but she had wished it could have been in a more pleasant way and not like this. Although her feelings towards the senior field agent were strong, she could not forgive him for what he has said. His facial expression, his angry eyes haunted her, and she felt how tears gathered in her eyes. _"Pull yourself together and stop being weak."_ She angrily said to herself. Ziva felt inside that she will not be able to forgive Tony that easy. She just couldn't because he had insulted her in so many ways, had made her feel bad about herself, and had made her doubt her intention to marry. While her thoughts were a million miles away, she had not noticed that Gibbs had walked in, and was studying her face. He snapped his fingers and Ziva jumped up from her chair. He put a cup of coffee on his desk and looked at her, concern visible on his face. Ziva looked horrible, and Gibbs made a mental note to slap Tony twice as hard as usual for what he had done to her. Her eyes were still red from the crying, and she had deep and dark rings under her eyes, her face was pale, and he could see that she was trying to put on a brave face, but she was actually one step away from crying. Gibbs cupped her face with one hand, and whipped the tear away with the other one.

"Ziva, don't cry. You know he cares, but he is not able to think and keep his feelings under control at the same time."

She nodded and then pulled herself away from Gibbs, rushing to the ladies room as fast she could. To her luck, there was not a single person in the rest room, and Ziva could let go of her tears. She started crying bitterly, because the pain was suffocating her once more. How could she have ever allowed this man so much power over her? She was metsada, trained to be hard and numb of any feeling, or at least able to put them aside and not be affected by such happenings. Anger started to build up and she lifted herself from the floor she had dropped to. Her fist hit the soup machine hard, but the anger was still there, maybe stronger then before. She hit the soup machine again, and again, until a small string of blood emerged. Quickly she washed it off and her face as well, slamming the door on her way out but feeling a little more in control of her feelings. Once she reached the desk, she noticed that both McGee and Tony were behind their desks. She greeted McGee warmly, and just nodded a hello towards Tony, then sat down and began working again. Ziva could clearly feel Tony's gaze, while he looked sheeply from behind his desk.

When she walked in, he was struck by her beauty. Even with her pale face, and her red eyes, she was still breath taking. Her confidence and her power of self control were remarkable, because if it would have been him in her situation, he had launched an attack upon her "enemy". But no, Ziva was different, and he could clearly see the Mossad training she had received, seeing that she was hiding her feelings very well. The only things that gave her pain away, and the fact that he had hurt her badly, were her red eyes and her pale face. When she nodded coldly, he had the impression that his soul had become an ice block, and that no joke in this world or apology could ever make a mends for what he had done? _"God how the hell was I so blind? How could I hurt her so much, when in fact I love her from the bottom of m y heart?"_ he asked himself. He had to do something. Tony noticed that Ziva was online on MSN.

Movieknower007:_ Ziva do you think we could talk?_

She didn't respond, she just dug herself deeper in her files.

"_Why does he have to make it harder? Isn't it clear I don't want to talk to him?"_ she though.

Movieknower: _Ziva please, I really need to talk to you._

KillYouWithaPaperclip: _There is nothing to be said. You have made your point very clear last night. Let me do my work and you do yours._

Movieknower: _I'm sorry about what I have said last night._

She did not respond, instead she signed out of MSN.

He looked up from his computer screen, hoping to catch a glimpse of her eyes, but she did not look up. The full extent of his stupidity hit him in that moment. Because of his anger, he had lost a friend, and he had lost the woman he loved.

* * *

Gibbs had been studying the whole scene, had seen Tony's sad face, and Ziva's attempts not to cry and he knew that something needed to be done. First of all he really needed to find out what DiNozzo had said to Ziva.

"DiNozzo, move your ass downstairs to Abby, and see if she has something for me." Gibbs spoke.

"Right boss." The replay came and he made his way to the lab. When he passed Ziva's desk, he looked at her, hoping that she would look up to him, like she always did. Instead he saw that she buried her head more in the file. He felt pain, like had never felt before, not even when Jeanne had left.

Gibbs had observed the whole scene, stood up and walked towards the elevator.

"David my office. NOW!" he said sharply.

She was confused for a few seconds but, quickly stood up and walked towards the elevator. Once inside, the doors closed and the elevator started moving lazy, but then Gibbs hit the emergency button, and the elevator came to a sudden stop, while the lights went off.

"What did he say to you?" he calmly asked.

Ziva went to the other side of the elevator and looked highly uncomfortable. She hated the Gibbs interrogatory, because she could not always hide her feelings.

"I don't think you want to hear that colorful discussion." She replied after a while.

"Try me."

"No, Gibbs, I will not say a thing. I am ashamed of what Tony has said and it hurts."

"Ziva, if DiNozzo screwed up, I need to know how much he screwed up."

She breathed heavily, fighting the tears, but she started speaking:

"He kept on saying that me and Ari were lovers, and that I had slept with him. He asked if Ari and me had stayed in bed after sex and talked about the "fun" way Ari had killed Kate." She started to cry, sliding down and sitting now on the floor.

Gibbs closed his eyes and exhaled loudly. "Is there more?'

She nodded and continued: "When he left, he had turned around and told me that I disappointed him and that he was sick of me."

She was crying, and she didn't care anymore that Gibbs was witnessing it. After a while she spoke tiered: "I have made up my mind. I will marry Roy."

"Ziva are you really convinced this is the right decision?" Gibbs asked softly.

She looked up, and he could see the sadness and anger mixed in her eyes.

"I think it is for the best. I will bury the feelings I have for Tony and have a nice life next to Roy."

"I still think you are doing a mistake by marrying Roy."

"What shall I do Gibbs, wait for Tony all my life? This is my shot for happiness and I am not going to throw it away."

"Ziva, has Tony apologized?"

"He had tried to speak to me, but Gibbs I can't talk to him now. His words haunt me, and I feel anger every time I think about it. I don't want to fight with him."

"Tony knows, Ziva. I have told him the truth last night. He came back to NCIS and I told him."

Her eyes grew wide, and he could see the fear in her eyes.

"Gibbs, why did you do that? It's not safe, for him, for you, for me. If my father even hears of this we are all dead."

"Your father wouldn't jeopardize the Israeli-American relationship."

"Correction then, I'm dead."

"Tony will not say a word to anybody about this Ziva."

"What if her gets captured by Mossad? What if gets interrogated? He would not survive." She spoke, panic vibrating in her voice.

"Calm down Ziva, nothing will happen."

"How can you know? You have no idea how Mossad works."

He grabbed her by her arms, and lifted her from the floor.

"Look at me Ziva." He uttered softly…"Do you really think I would let something happen to the team?"

"No, but…"

"Ziva, nothing will happen. Our only concern now is to get Nick back."

She nodded and Gibbs pressed the emergency button. The ride to the forensic lab was quite, but Gibbs could feel that she was tense. She would have to be in a room with Tony and speak to him. The doors of the elevator swung open and both agents were hit by the angry voice of Abby.

* * *

In the meantime in Abby's lab, Tony had spilled his soul to Abby. She had found out everything about Ari; that Ziva had killed him, and the horrible things he had said to her the night before. He was expecting to hear Abby being disappointed in Ziva's behavior, and mad that she did not tell her, but he was surprised of her reaction.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND DINOZZO??" she yelled.

He did not respond just looked like beat up puppy. He knew that Abby was right, and that he had made the biggest mistake ever. Yet secretly he had hoped that Abby would be on his side, at least this time.

"I know Abby. I messed up big time."

"Really Tony, you think?" she asked sarcastically, something untypical for Abby. He knew that he deserved it.

"I don't know how to explain it, but the picture of her and Ari made me think of the most awful scenarios involving both of them."

"I think you are watching way too many movies Tony."

"The thing is she doesn't want to talk to me. I tried to apologize to her, but she logged out of MSN."

"You apologized on MSN?? C'mon Tony, I think you will have to do better then MSN."

"Yeah I know, but like I said, she doesn't want to talk to me."

"Maybe she just needs time to digest everything."

"Maybe you're right."

The minute the finished the sentence, the doors of the elevator swung open, revealing Gibbs and Ziva. Abby, run towards Ziva and hugged her tightly, and the Israeli exchanged a look with Gibbs. It was obvious to her that Abby knew about Ari.

Finally Gibbs spoke, and Abby let go of Ziva.

"What you got?"

"Well I managed to pull a partial print from the paper attached to the brick the guy threw in to the house. I am running it now trough AFIS. It will still take a while, but I hope it will reveal the identity of our kidnapper." She spoke.

"The delivery boy said that he had not seen the man who gave him the package, he just said to deliver it to the Calloway home."

In that moment, one of Abby's babies started dinging and she quickly turned around. A face popped on the screen. The name of the suspect was Captain Byers, but the whole team looked at the screen in shock. According to Amanda Byers, her husband had died in Iraq one year ago. The team was chasing a ghost.


	10. I can't do this

**My writers block kind of lifted, so I am actually able to write something again. I hope you like it, it's short. Promise the next one will be longer (it's already in the process of writing, and we kind of get then to the juicy part:))...Review please and I so hope you like it.**

**xoxo LT**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill:))**

* * *

**I can't do this**

"But that's impossible! The guy is dead, he couldn't have kidnapped Nick." Tony spoke out loud in shock.

"You think DiNozzo?" came Gibbs's replay.

"There might be a possibility, that Captain Byers is still alive, considering the fact that Amanda never got to see his body." Ziva added.

"Then there is one person, who could actually shed some light on this. Mrs. Calloway. DiNozzo, David, bring her in." he spoke, while looking at them.

Ziva's face became paler, if that was actually possible, and Tony swallowed hard, knowing that it was going to be very unpleasant ride to the Calloway home. He wanted to talk to Ziva, get things back to how they used to be, but on the other hand he was afraid of her reaction. Ziva was the most unpredictable person he knew, and he did not want to mess it up more.

They both got in to the elevator, Tony on one side, Ziva on the other. The tension in the small space was unbearable, and Tony was weighing his option. Stop the elevator and apologize, which would surely lead to a painful death, or go on with present state. The battle was decided after a few seconds and Tony pressed the emergency button making the elevator come to a sudden stop. She looked at him, but did not speak, instead she pressed the button and the elevator started moving again. Tony on the other hand would not give up that easily; he hit the emergency button once more, only to be switched back on by Ziva instantly. Annoyed by this game he pressed harshly the button again, and when she tried to switch it back on, he grabbed her hand. Ziva was shocked by this, she never had thought that he could have such good reflexes and be so quick. But the shock was quickly lifted from her features only to give away the beginning of her anger. Her eyes were flashing dangerously, and Tony knew that he was walking on thin ice, but he to was annoyed by this whole situation and wanted to talk to her. She tried to free herself from his grip, but he quickly grabbed her other hand and then pressed her against the elevator wall. Their faces were inches away from each other, and they could feel each others breath.

Tony looked at her, at her wild hair and at her angry eyes; she had never looked so beautiful.

"Ziva, you are going to listen to me now."

She never heard him like this and his eyes were dead serious, making her feel like a regular woman, under the power of a man. She hated it but at the same time it was something she sometimes secretly longed for, to have a man, mostly Tony, in control. She did not move, she just looked at him, but he eyes were still emitting the danger vibe.

"What do you want Tony? Insult me again? Hurt me again? Please I had enough of that last night." she spit out bitterly.

He was caught by surprise by her words, he had expected her to threaten him or anything else, but she was sad and angry at the same time.

"Ziva, I'm sorry about what I said last night. I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't know that he was your brother."

"Half brother. And you didn't know because, I choose not to tell, because I know that you only seen the monster in him, and not the man I knew. The man I knew promised to protect me; he was my only pillar in this life. You insulted my family and the only person who gave a damn about me." She said, her tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

He felt pain when she spoke these words, he wanted to take her in his arms and hold her forever and never let anybody hurt her again. Tony let go of her hand, and cupped her cheeks, wiping the tears away from her face. She held on to his hands, and at the same time tried to pull away, but he held her firmly.

"I didn't know Ziva, but that's no excuse. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Yes you did Tony. You knew very well that the last words you spoke before walking out the door would hurt me more then anything else. I am not one of your bimbos that you sleep with Tony. Woman that you dispose in the morning and never look back. I am your friend, or so I thought."

"Ziva, I know that. You are so much more, you are unique and at the same time perfect in all aspects."

She lifted her eyes, and met his gaze. Ziva could tell that he was sincere, and what she saw in his eyes was something she had hoped for so many times. But she had Roy now, and there was nothing to be done about this. Their faces were very close, his lips close to her. She could feel his heart beat, because he was pressed against her body. He brushed her lips with his, and she longed to kiss him. But Roy's face emerged from the dept of her mind and she pulled away. The magic had been broken, and both of them waned to feel each other again.

"I'm sorry Ziva. I'm really sorry of hurting you; I never wanted to see you cry. It breaks my heart."

"You have a heart DiNozzo?" she said and he could hear the playfulness in her voice.

"Well yeah Ziva, I'm not the Grinch you know. I have a heart. In fact I'll proof it to you tonight over dinner."

She did not say a thing; she didn't know what to think anymore. A part of her wanted to have dinner with him, but the other part of her knew that she could not control herself when she was next to him. Although her mind screamed "no" her mouth said "Yes Tony, you can make up for what you did. But you cook. I don't want any pizza."

He flashed his ten thousand watt smile and pressed the emergency button.

"Good, now let's go get Mrs. Calloway, before Gibbs kills us."


	11. Secrets and tears

**Ok here is the new chapter. I have been waiting patiently for Judgment Day, have seen it, and I was so depressed that I even considered never to write again. This chapter goes out for all the people who feel the same, who don't feel the same, but more importantly it's for the people who love NCIS:))...Thank you again for the wonderful reviews, and if you have suggestions for this please tell me because I AM LOST:))...Please R&R.**

**xoxo LT**

* * *

**Secrets and tears.**

Tony and Ziva had brought Mrs. Calloway back to head quarters, and right now she was patiently waiting in the conference room of NCIS. It had been debated, who should talk to her, and the winner was Ziva. She entered the room quietly, scaring the poor woman out of her senses.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to scare you." she said and took a seat near to the woman.

"That's alright. Is there any news of my son?" She asked softly, begging Ziva for a positive response.

"We are still looking for him. Mrs. Calloway, I think you can help us. Remember you threaten your husband that you will kill him if anything happens to Nick. What was that all about?" Ziva spoke.

The woman did not replay; she looked down, and started playing with her son's photo, which she had gotten out of her wallet earlier.

"Mrs. Calloway please, cooperate with us. We are trying to help you."

"A while ago my husband had an affair. He worked closely with a woman, from the Navy. He used to come home late, smelling like he had been to a whore house, and once I found another woman's panties in his pocket, while I was doing the laundry. One time, I had to leave for a business trip and my son was at his grandmother's house. When I came back, three days later, blond hair was all over my pillow. He had the nerve to bring his whore in to my house, have sex in my bed." She said, looking up angrily…"Do you know it feels officer David, to be married to a man, have a son and then find _that_ in your own home?"

Ziva felt pity for the poor woman, and rage towards that pig called her husband.

"When I confronted him, he denied everything. When I told him what I found, he offered to bring me to a shrink. After a while I told him that I will take Nick and leave, if he does not put an end to this. Roger knows that I am not afraid to fulfill my threats, so the cheating stopped. Everything seems to go back to normal, we are actually planning a family vacation, and Roger and me were planning a weekend at a nice spa to try to fix our problems and have a fresh start. Then this happened." Her voice broke and she started crying silently.

Ziva did not know what to do. She was bad with people crying, but she grabbed Mrs. Calloway's hand.

"We will find him. I promise." Ziva spoke softly.

"Do you have any clue who that woman is?" Ziva trailed away.

Mrs. Calloway did not respond immediately, but then she looked in to Ziva's eyes.

"I had a little bit of help, when it came to identification. One day, when I was in the office, I received an envelope. There was no address or name, nothing, but when I opened it, I found several pictures, showing my husband whit that woman, holding hands, kissing; the whole package. There was a note next to the picture with the woman's name." she took a break to breath and then continued…"Her name is Amanda Byers."

Ziva was prepared for that. The moment she had seen the picture in Amanda's house she had suspected that Roger and Amanda were more then friendly towards each other. The Mossad assassin thanked Mrs. Calloway and promised her that she would do anything in her power to bring her back her son, safe and sound. Before Mrs. Calloway left the room, she handed Ziva the envelope with the pictures and the note.

"I thought it might come handy. Maybe you can find out, who send it to me and lead you to my son."

Ziva then escorted the woman out of NCIS and then returned to the bull pen. The other agents were there and looked at her, expecting some breaking news.

Ziva threw the envelope with the pictures on McGee's desk and said disgusted:" Men are pigs. Amanda and Calloway were having a relationship. The wife knew and she got this envelope with pictures, anonymously."

"McGee take these down to Abby, and see if she can find out anything from them. Maybe something that is not dead." Gibbs spoke.

Ziva went back to her desk and started to do paper work. Gibbs was studying her face.

"Ziva, Tony, go home. There is nothing that we can do anymore today. It's late and I want you both back here by 0730 hours tomorrow."

Tony swung his back pack and was heading towards the elevator; Ziva on the other hand, was not sure what she should do. She quickly looked at Gibbs, who gave her half a smile and showed her the direction she should be going. Finally she stood up and took her gear, while Tony was waiting for her in front of the elevator.

They drove to Tony's place separately. Tony was driving slowly, forcing Ziva, who was following him in her Mini, to obey the traffic rules. Twenty five minutes later, they arrived at Tony's apartment, and Ziva asked Tony if she could take a shower and change her bandage. He nodded and started preparing dinner. He heard the sound of the shower and couldn't stop fantasizing of a naked Ziva. He would love to join her in to the shower, but he knew that he would probably end up not being able to reproduce anymore. He was curios how the evening was going to be. The sexual tension in the elevator had been so thick that one could have cut it with a knife. Even though Ziva was in a relationship with Roy, he could not stop thinking that there might be a chance for him to kiss her, maybe even more. He remembered their undercover kiss; it had been electric and they were supposed to pretend, he was wondering how it would be if, he could kiss her now when his feelings had evolved. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice that Ziva had sneaked up on him, and was dipping a finger in his pasta sauce.

"Needs more salt." She said playful, making Tony jump up.

"Jeez Ziva! Stop doing that." He said.

She smiled and took two glasses and two plates from the cabinet he was holding them in. Then he took the bottle from the freezer and started setting up the table. He was looking at her fascinated by the way she was moving her hips.

"Tony, prepare the food and stop looking at my butt. I'm hungry." She said, with her back turned to him.

"How? Never mind. Dinner will be ready in 5."

She poured wine in the glasses and placed his glass in front of him, then sat down on his bar chairs. The silence was not uncomfortable; in fact, Ziva had never felt better in her life. She was still stunned by the fact that next to Tony she felt safe, and could let her guard down, something that she couldn't do around Roy. She was lost in thoughts and hadn't noticed that Tony was studying her face intensely, maybe trying to figure out what she was thinking at. After a few minutes she lifted her eyes from her wine glass and met Tony's eyes. He was looking at her, and for the first time in her life he took her breath away. He had never looked so mature, so concerned, so sorry, so…and something she couldn't really define. There was something in his eyes that made her heart jump out of her chest, and she just wanted to be snuggle in his arms. She mentally head slapped herself for letting her feelings take over her judgment and said playfully: "See something you like Tony?"

The minute she said that sentence Tony magically turned back in to the joker and Ziva bit her lip for making that look in his eyes disappear.

"Not really Zee-vha, I was just hoping you could snap out of your dreaming and get me the cheese out of the fridge."

She just smiled and walked over to the fridge; it was so typical of Tony to ruin such a moment, but she knew that she was to blame for his response, she had forced him to become the joker once more. But the only thing she could do was smile, after all she had Roy. They sat down at his big table, and enjoyed their meal in silence, but both of them felt really good, like this was meant to be. It seemed like their fight had never happened and every thing was fine. After desert, Ziva helped Tony clean up, she was gathering the dirty dishes, and he was washing them.

"Ziva, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I had no right to say something like that." He began.

She did not replay, just looked at him and she noticed that strange glitter in is eyes was back. He was looking at her, and the only thing she could think of, was how nice it would be, if he could take her in his arms.

"Please tell me that we are ok. I can't stand you being mad at me, I can't stand seeing you cry." He had stopped handling the fine China, and was cupping her face, looking in her eyes. She was lost and felt how everything around her became blurry. There was only him and her, and nothing mattered.

"I forgive you Tony. You didn't know." she whispered still looking at him.

He pulled her closer, she did not oppose, and he dared more. Gently his lips brushed hers and both of them felt the same electricity run through them, like it had run earlier in the elevator. Tony put one arm around her waist, and pulled her even closer and kissed her softly first, but he deepened the kiss when he felt that her lips had parted. He could enter her mouth and explore her, like had dreamed so many times.

She lost control of everything; the only thing that mattered was Tony, and the wonderful sensation. Ziva had never been kissed like this before, and she wanted more. They broke the kiss, not because they wanted to, because both were in need of air. She smiled at him, and he plunged back on her lips, kissing her wildly.

Suddenly Ziva pulled away. He was surprised, but he saw something on her face; she was sad and more important Ziva David was afraid.

"Tony I need to tell you something." She began, her voice shacking.

He had the impression she was one step away from crying. He got close to her again and cupped her face.

"Tell me Ziva." He said slowly and softly.

She couldn't bear to look at him, so he lifted her face and their eyes interlocked. Now he was really worried.

"Ziva, tell me what's wrong. Have I done something wrong?"

" No Tony you haven't done anything wrong, it's just that…." She stopped and looked at him. "Tony I'm getting married." She spoke and pulled herself away from him. She walked towards the door and left his apartment, leaving him stunned behind. The tears started to flood her checks, she had never been so unhappy in her whole life.

The rain had begun to fall, covering her face, hiding the sadness, the pain, the tears but more importantly hiding the love she felt for her coworker, a love that will remain forever only a dream.


	12. Where do we stand now?

**I'm back with a new chapter. There will be around two or three chapters from this story, I'm not really sure yet. Like I said a while ago, I'm struggling with writers block, big time. It took me almost two weeks to write this one, trust me, I have no idea how this will end.:)) I really hope you like it. I want to thank you again for the wonderful reviews. You guys keep me writing:)**

**Enjoy and review please:)**

**xoxo LT**

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**Where do we stand now?**

He was lying on his couch, looking at the ceiling. Her words echoed in his head over and over. _"Tony I'm getting married"_. It couldn't be true, not now, when he finally figured out what the hell he was feeling. He lost Ziva forever, he was sure of that. The more he thought about her choosing Roy, the more convinced he was that she was making the best choice. Who was he kidding? He was the Italian stallion, the Big D, and he did not posses boyfriend material. The moment he and a woman become more then friends with benefits, he would run away, like his life would depend on it. Relationships were not his thing and he was not sure he could change and become Roy. Jeanne was different, she was an assignment, he was forced to stick to her become the typical boyfriend. But on the other hand, Jeanne had thought him what it means to feel more for a woman, then sexual attraction. That "relationship", if one can call it that, had started a changing process, and he was not really sure if he was ready for that. He had to face it now, he had nothing to offer Ziva, except himself, the way he was with all his flaws. But why did it hurt so much, even if he was trying to convince himself that Ziva would be happier with Roy.

"Because you love her, you moron!" he said out loud, still looking at the ceiling.

The storm was getting louder by the second, and yet he wanted to jump up and go for a walk, hoping that the rain could wash away his sorrow and maybe he could clear his head. But his body would not respond to the impulses his brain was sending him, he was numb, and Ziva's words were still echoing in his head.

Tony was afraid of the next day. Trapped with Ziva in the office, the silence would be once more excruciating. The Italian was actually afraid to look her in the eyes, because deep down inside he knew that he could make her feeling guilty of not choosing him, over Roy. He wanted her to be happy, but at the same time, he wished she could be with him, make him happy, he wanted to be the one to make her happy. Could it be that he wished that Ziva would be his bride? Suddenly Ziva in a white dress appeared in front of him, smiling, being happy, and he waiting for her in front of the altar. He shook his head, but another image popped up. It was Ziva laying a small infant in to a cradle, while he was looking at his family.

"I must be going insane." He said, letting out a hysterical laugh.

"_But would it be so bad to have a family?"_ he asked himself. The truth was, he longed for something liked that, and he was sick of his gigolo ways. Now he had to witness how the woman he loved was marring another man.

"Face it DiNozzo, she screwed you big time." He spoke, then stood up from the couch and walked towards the kitchen.

The storm was getting stronger by the second, but he didn't care. All that he cared, was that not far from his place, in another apartment, lay the sleeping form he loved so much, dreaming of her wedding with the man she deserved. After a while he managed to slip in to a restless sleep, filled with nightmares, and regrets. He was the prisoner of a feeling he couldn't shake off, and strangely enough he didn't want to free himself from this feeling.

* * *

Ziva was looking outside at the storm. She couldn't sleep, couldn't do anything, just cry. The assassin had left, before she could see his reaction. She knew all too well what his facial expression would be, disappointment, sadness maybe even anger, but she knew that she disserved it. The truth came out, when her wish came true, and when Tony was actually serious. Uncertainty clouded her judgment. _"Am I doing the right thing? Should I marry Roy? Should I risk every thing for Tony?_" she asked herself over and over again. She tried to find an answer to her questions but it seemed that she could not do anything, not think of anything. She cared deeply for Roy, but she loved Tony. On the other hand Tony was a coworker, and there was rule number 12, a rule that if broken could lead to both of them loosing their jobs. It seemed that the best thing for her and for him was if she continued with her plan and married Roy. But my marrying Roy, she would lose any chance of being happy. She did not know how to have love and security at the same time. Ziva knew that work would become a nightmare, after this confession. The tension between them would become unbearable, but she still hoped that it would not affect their work.

The Israeli strolled around the room for hours, trying to find a solution out of this emotional catastrophe. Finally she sat down on her couch, the tears still swaying her cheeks, and fell in to an agitated sleep.

* * *

Something was vibrating annoyingly, and she thought she was dreaming. Somehow she managed to reach her phone. "David."

"_Ziva I'll pick you up in 10 minutes. Gibbs said they have located the kidnapper."_ He said and then slammed the phone shot in her face. Ziva was wide awake now, and in shock. She was shivering, Tony's tone, was colder then ice, if that was possible. She could feel the sadness, and on the other hand the anger. Fifteen minutes later she came out of the apartment building and saw Tony waiting for her in his car. He had managed to buy another Mustang, after his old one blew up. She walked over and opened the door, he greeted her coldly.

"What do we have?" she finally asked.

"The kidnapper called again and demanded 15 million dollars for the child. Abby and McGee traced the call to an old abandoned factory outside Georgetown. We are meeting Gibbs and McGee there." He spoke and then went quiet.

She looked outside trying to feel comfortable, but there was no way for that. There was no topic to debate about with him, because she could clearly see that he was upset.

"It's nice." He said.

She turned her face to him and looked him quizzical.

"What do you mean?"

"The ring. It's nice." He answered and she could feel the pain in the words.

Ziva looked down and stared at her ring. She couldn't actually remember when she had put it back on.

"When is the wedding?" he asked after a pause.

It took all of his strength to remain calm, and not tell her that he wanted her. He would not ruin her happiness.

"When he is coming back. I already started the wedding preparations. Abby is helping me pick out a dress when the case is over. Roy and I settled for the first of June." She answered shyly.

He hit the breaks with full strength, and she almost hit the dashboard.

"That's in two months. You are getting married when he comes back? Don't you think you are rushing in to this?" he inquired his face white as chalk now.

"We are not rushing. I am not going to wait all of my life. Rather now then never." She said irritated.

The rest of the ride was in silent. Ziva was annoyed of his interfering, while Tony was trying to come up with a way to persuade Ziva not to marry Roy.

Tony pulled the car behind the NCIS wan, which was near the abandoned steel factory, just outside Georgetown. They pulled out their sigs, and walked over to Gibbs.

"Nice of you to join us DiNozzo and David." He barked irritated.

"Sorry boss. Traffic." Tony replied and Ziva nodded.

Gibbs looked at them quizzical, but could easily notice that the two NCIS agents were far away from being well. He could see that they avoided looking at each other, that Tony's face expression was one of sadness, and that something was torturing him, while Ziva's eyes were still red from crying. Gibbs shook his head. He had too much to do now, and then think about the situation of the two agents. He would have time for that later, now they had to get little Nick back in one peace.

"DiNozzo, David you go through the back, while McGee and me go through the front. You know the drill. McGee goes in first then you go through the back." He ordered.

* * *

Both Tony and Ziva went to the back entrance, while Gibbs and McGee were preparing to enter the building. Gibbs could tell that McGee was nervous and a little bit scared. Although Tim was trying to get more comfortable with the field, he felt more in control o a situation when he was sitting in front of the computer.

McGee entered the building, and saw that the corridor was empty but he could clearly hear the voice of a young boy pleading to be released. "Clear" he whispered and Gibbs walked in. They both moved towards the large hall, where Nick and the suspect where in. Gibbs came closer and saw trough the cracked door that the hall, was filled with armed men, and he quietly swore. He saw Ziva and Tony sneak inside, and stop behind a large container. For a second Tony's eyes locked with Gibbs's eyes and Tony immediately understood that they were in trouble, and that situation had not been correctly assessed. He grabbed Ziva's arm, as she was just about to move towards the center of the room. His pull was brutal and she ended up in his arms. To her surprise, his arms locked around her, pulling her closer. She saw the shock in his eyes, and there was fear as well. Ziva's eyes then wondered around the room, and she saw around fifteen armed men scattered around the room. She had been too focused on the kidnapper and the bound child that she had not seen the men.

Then she saw Gibbs and McGee still on the other side of the room. Her brain was working quickly and she saw that Gibbs was looking at her. Ziva nodded as Gibbs showed her something. Reluctantly she freed herself from Tony's embrace, and whispered in his ear "Cover me."

Tony looked at her confused in the beginning, but she moved quickly and with no hesitation. The room had only one light bulb in the middle, while the rest of the old factory was mostly in darkness. They were lucky enough to have a good position, and see most of the men. Ziva quickly approached one of the men and drew her knife. She covered his mouth quickly and before he could make a sound, she cut his throat. The cut was deep enough to kill him instantly, and Ziva caught him before he fell to the floor. Gently and quietly he put him on the ground, and moved towards the next target. She could feel Tony's, Gibbs's and McGee's gaze, while she was moving. The assassin tried to kill the next man the same why, but he was stronger and he was moving too much, so she stabbed him in the chest. The first time did not kill him, so she stabbed him again. As in the first case she laid him quietly on the ground and moved towards her next victim. At the same time, she noticed that Tony was moving towards her. It might have been her fault or his, she couldn't tell, but they had been spotted, and everybody started shooting at them. Four men were moving towards her, and she couldn't suppress a grin. This would be very interesting and entertaining.

Ziva kicked the first man in the stomach, before he could draw his gun. He quickly got back on his feet, and she hit him the head with her fist. The man tried to grab her, but she quickly ducked and hit him in the groin. He walked a few steppes behind, and she drew her gun. The man shook his head and came again towards her, but she aimed and pulled the trigger. The shoot was at close range, blowing part of his skull.

Two men came to grab her, but she managed to kick one in the face, while the other one drew a gun. Ziva was grabbed by another man from behind and the other attacked came with his drawn gun towards her. She elevated herself and kicked the man in the head, and the second she got back on the ground she head-punched the man who was holding her, in the face. Amazed and disoriented the man let her go, and Ziva grabbed the offered opportunity. She grabbed a large chain with a hook from the floor and swung it. Ziva was smiling and when the man came after her again, she h smacked him in the face. The hook entered deep in his flesh, a few inches below his left eye, causing him to scream in pain. Ziva pulled him closer only to quickly get her gun from the floor and shoot him in the stomach.

The Mossad assassin claimed her hook back and saw the two wounded attackers rush towards her. She swung the chain again and struck both attackers making them drop to the ground. The hook buried itself deep into one of the man's chest. She came closer and fired two shots, killing both men.

She quickly turned to see Tony fighting three men at the same time. From what she could see, he had been injured, his right shoulder was bleeding. Ziva aimed and shot one of the men, in knee making him drop to the floor. He was trying to reach his gun but Ziva quickly snapped his neck. At the same time, she noticed that Tony had shot the other man. The third man was trying to get up from the floor, but Ziva hit him in the head, with the back of her gun.

She turned her attention to Tony and he could see a glimpse of fear in her eyes.

"Tony you're bleeding." She said, while trying to put pressure on the wound.

"It's nothing Ziva, I'm fine." He answered.

Both agents could hear screams and gun shots. They knew that Gibbs and McGee had called for back-up.

"Tony hold still. I'm trying to help you." Ziva yelled out..

Suddenly a shot echoed and Tony saw Ziva's eyes grow wide.

"Tony" she spoke, while he was holding on to her. His eyes became glassy, only to close a few seconds after.

She caught him before he fell, and pulled him away, while the gun shots were flying very close to them. Another shot was heard, and Ziva saw Gibbs rushing towards her. McGee came close behind, carrying a crying little boy.

Ziva was holding Tony, who drifted into unconsciousness the moment he had been shot, applying pressure on his wound. He was loosing too much blood, even if the wound did not look lethal.

"Tony, stay with me!" she yelled, while holding on to him.

Gibbs drew his cell and called for an ambulance. The ten minutes needed for the ambulance to arrive at the scene seemed like hours.

When the paramedics arrived, Ziva refused to let go of Tony. Her hard exterior was on the verge of melting and she was trying to suppress the tears. Gibbs gently pulled her away, and held her tightly, while she began to cry.

"I told him Gibbs. I told him that I'm getting married, and it broke my heart to see his sad face. If anything happens to him, I…." she cried into his chest.

"Shhh Ziva! Nothing is going to happen to him." He tried to comfort her.

One of the paramedics walked up to Gibbs.

"Where do you want us to take him?"

"To Bethesda." The response came.

"Someone can ride with us." The paramedic added.

In that moment Ziva slipped away from Gibbs's embrace and went to the ambulance.

The paramedic gave Gibbs a shy smile and proceeded towards the ambulance.


	13. Maybe we were never meant to be

**Yey! I made it! A new chapter is up and kind of started working on the last chapter of this story. Planning a sequel to _"I just couldn't" _and _"What have I done"_. Really don't know yet which one will be the next story. Anyway, I am really bad at the hospital stuff, so if there is something that does not resemble the truth, please tell me so I can change it.**

**Thank you for the reviews, like I said last time, you keep me writing.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Just a mind of my own, thank you very much:)**

**xoxo LT**

* * *

**Maybe we were never meant to be!**

They had finally arrived at Bethesda, and Tony had been taken to the OR

They had finally arrived at Bethesda, and Tony had been taken to the OR. Now she was all alone, waiting for someone to come out of surgery and tell her how her partner was, if he had survived or, God forbid, something happened to him. But there was no one there to tell her anything and she was lost in her thoughts once more. She loved Tony that she finally figured out but there was no way in hell she was going to give up Roy. The Israeli had seen what can happen to an NCIS agent, she knew what the risks were, and Ziva didn't want to mix work with love. She just couldn't, it would kill her to have the whole thing over again. She just couldn't imagine how it would be if she would be with Tony, let her feelings bloom for him, and then something like this could take place, and everything would be taken away. No! Something like that she would not let to occur.

"_And yet why does my heart still long for him, although I know it's wrong."_ She asked herself for the millionth time.

After one and a half hours sitting on that blasted hospital chair, she just lost it. Ziva jumped up from the chair and went to the blond receptionist, who was talking on the phone with her boyfriend once again. Since she got to the hospital, the only thing that she had heard was _"I love you more pooh bear" _or _"Of course I love you"_ and finally _"Kiss kiss baby. Be a good boy or I'll spank you."_ Ziva was a tolerant person, but this was too much. Every time she tried to squeeze some information from the blond nurse, the bimbo put her "baby" on hold and told Ziva annoyed that she was in the middle of something. Now the blond nurse and her boyfriend where at it again, and she couldn't stand the pressure anymore, of not knowing how Tony was. On top of everything Gibbs didn't show up yet, nor the rest of the team. She was all alone and she was very close to going insane.

Slowly she walked back to the nurse's desk and the young woman put her boyfriend on hold again.

"I'm busy now." She said and gave Ziva a superior look.

Ziva cocked her head, and then grabbed the phone from her hand.

"You know, this is actually a hospital. People are sick here and need medical attention. I know it's really hard for your little girlfriend to understand, being mentally limited and all, but I think you are the smarter one, yes?" she paused and then continued "Now be a good pooh bear and get off the line and LET HER DO HER JOB." She yelled and then slammed the phone shoot. The nurse was too shocked in the beginning to say anything, but then she busted and started yelling. Ziva was surprised by the nurse's verbal diarrhea, but quickly recovered.

"Are you insane ma'am? That was a highly important call." The nurse yelled.

"Don't call me ma'am, and start doing the job you are paid for." She bit back.

"Who do you think you are lady?" the nurses attacked again.

Ziva was about to draw her gun and shoot the woman, when a firm hand caught her.

"Don't do that Ziva." A rugged voice hushed close to her.

She turned back and saw Gibbs, looking at her. She didn't say anything, but Gibbs could see her lips turning white from then anger and knew that she was burning on the inside.

"Can you help us or do I have to let her shoot you?" Gibbs asked the woman, who quickly disappeared. After a few seconds she came by whit an elderly woman, but then quickly went out the room.

"Can you tell me if Agent DiNozzo is out of surgery?" Gibbs began.

"I can't give that information away." The response came.

"Now you listen to me..." Ziva started, but Gibbs pulled her away.

"Why is that…nurses Robertson?" the gray haired agent asked, after checking the nurses badge.

"Are you family?" She asked, looking suspiciously at both of them.

"I'm Anthony's father, and this angry young woman next to me, is my son's fiancée."

He swiftly looked at Ziva, and he couldn't suppress a smile when he saw that the Mossad assassin actually blushed, when Gibbs told her that Ziva was Tony's fiancée.

"Oh. I'm sorry. Why didn't you say that from the start? He's out of surgery and the recovery room. Follow me please." She said and smiled warmly at Ziva.

Both agents followed the woman in quiet. The walk through the white and empty corridors of the Bethesda hospital made Ziva feel more uncomfortable then she already felt.

"Is Nick ok?" she quietly asked.

"Yes Ziva he's fine." The answer came.

"McGee?" she continued.

"A bullet scratched his thigh. He should be ok. Abby is taking care of him. Well will take care of him after she stops crying" The response came.

* * *

When they finally arrived to the recovery room, the nurse went to fetch the doctor. Through the glass window of the recovery room, she could see Tony lying on his back, fast asleep. A tube was coming out of his mouth and another one from his nose. He looked pale, and Ziva was about to cry. Gibbs put a hand on her shoulder, and she just turned to face him.

"He will be fine Ziva. He pulled it through the surgery; he will recover and then move his ass back to work."

She nodded, and the moment was disturbed by the arrival of the doctor.

"Ah you must be Mr. DiNozzo and the future Mrs. DiNozzo. My name is Dr. Burns, I performed agent DiNozzo's surgery." He said, shacking first Gibb's hand and then Ziva's."

"My name is special agent Gibbs, I'm Tony's boss, and this is office David, agent DiNozzo's partner." Gibbs spoke and looked at the doctor.

"I'm sorry; the nurse told me something else. I…Never mind.

I removed the bullet from agent DiNozzo's right shoulder and stopped the bleeding. He lost a lot of blood and was very very lucky. The bullet had touched a nerve, but it seems it's not something very severe. He will be needing therapy, but he is expected to make a full recovery." The doctor explained.

"Can we see him?" Ziva asked, hoping that Gibb and the doctor couldn't notice the way her voice was shacking.

"Yes you may see him, but not for long."

"Thank you Dr. Burns." Gibbs said.

"You go in Ziva. I'll get us some coffee." Gibbs suggested.

She nodded and entered the room, sitting herself on yet another uncomfortable hospital chair. She took his hand in hers, and caressed slowly.

"I should shoot you for scaring me like that." She whispered, while shedding a tear.

The tear dropped on his hand, and she could feel him move. Ziva looked up and saw that Tony was starting to move, but to her horror, she noticed that Tony couldn't breathe. She rushed out of the hospital room and yelled for assistance. Returning to Tony's bed, she tried everything to keep him calm, but Tony was still struggling. His eyes were wide open, and she could see the panic in them. Finally Dr. Burns and two nurses came in.

"Brenda, we need to get that tube out of his mouth." The doctor started.

"Mrs. DiNozzo, look at me." The petite nurse spoke.

Tony looked at her, while still struggling to breath.

"I will count to three, and on three take a deep breath, ok?" She said.

"One…Two…Three…" she screamed.

Tony took a deep breath; the moment the tube came out he started coughing. The other nurse, who was a silent observer during the process, quickly handed Tony a glass of water.

After checking on his vitals and on his bandage the nurses and the doctor left the room, leaving Ziva and Tony alone.

She was sitting the chair; he was not looking at her. The silence was painful, and Ziva was thinking of a reason to get out of the room.

"Is Nick alright?" he surprisingly asked not looking at her.

"Gibbs said he is fine. McGee was injured but not seriously." She added looking out the window.

The silence embraced the room once more. She finally stood up and walked over to the window.

"Are you going to marry Roy?" he asked glaring at her back.

She didn't turn around but answered: "Yes. I will marry him, when he returns."

He swallowed hard, she fought the tears.

"I wish you all the best in the world Ziva. I really hope you are going to be happy. You deserve it."

She walked back to the bed, and rearranged the pillow, not looking at him. He watched her, their faces inches away. She stroked his face gently, and Tony could see she was very close to crying.

"I need to have somebody that will not die on me, like any other person I came close to in the past. I need to have some one that I know will not go on a dangerous mission and maybe never come back. I need security in my home. I'm sorry Tony." She spoke softly, still caressing his face. When Tony wanted to speak she put a finger on his lips and shook her head.

"Don't speak. Please, don't confuse me even more. I need to leave now." Ziva hissed.

Before he could respond she was out the door. He swallowed hard, still feeling her perfume, longing for her. She was so close and yet so far away. Gibbs walked in with the ever present cup of coffee.

"You gave everybody one hell of a scare. Abby has only stopped crying ten minutes ago." He spoke.

Tony smiled weakly looking at his boss.

"How do you feel Tony?"

"Like I've been shot in the shoulder." He bit back with sarcasm.

"DiNozzo, if you screwed up, don't let it out on me." Gibbs barked

"Sorry boss."

"Don't apologize. It's a sign…"

"…of weakness. Yeah I know." Tony reproduced for the millionth time Gibbs's rule.

"You know maybe it's better like this DiNozzo." Gibbs added after a while.

"Better to be shot at?" he asked sarcastically although he knew what Gibbs mend. Unfortunately for Gibbs, Tony was not in the mood of discussing with Gibbs the fact that he fell in love with a coworker.

"DiNozzo, do you want to get head slapped?"

"No boss." He replied sheepish

"You two can then focus on the work and not on the relationship."

"Gibbs you know damn well that we could have kept it outside the office."

"I never doubted that Tony. But still at some level it does affect your job."

"Yeah. Well no worried Gibbs, it's too late to change anything now; she is going to marry Roy and I…I will be fine." He said bitterly and couldn't look Gibbs in the eyes.

"It's never to late DiNozzo." Gibbs responded fatherly, putting an arm on Tony's left shoulder.

"I will check on you later. Don't do anything stupid." Gibbs spoke before he left the room.

He stood there in the hospital bed thinking about Ziva and him, about the life he would love to share with her. Once he started figuring out, what his feelings towards her were, he thought about all the dreams he would like to share with her. Of course he fantasized about her body, the way he would make love to her, the way she would scream his name. But everything was out of reach for him now; she was not his, and there wasn't anything he could do about it.

* * *

Tony never noticed how quickly the days went away. McGee came to visit, and Tony joked about the injury he sustained during the mission. Abby brought him every time she came a bouquet of black roses, so his room started to look like a haunted flower shop. Ducky visited him a couple of times and every time the good doctor started a story from his youth, Tony would fall asleep instantly. Palmer and Lee visited once, but when they said they would get a cup of coffee and come back, Tony expected them to be back in a few hours and not minutes. Gibbs and Jenny came over every day and tried to help him deal with boredom. Gibbs would head slap Tony most of the time, and Jenny would make fun of Gibbs, leading Tony to laugh and get head slapped one more time.

Ziva was at the hospital every day. She was the first person he saw when he woke up and the last one before he fell asleep. The assassin would be there to help him through therapy and take him on walked through the hospital park. They grew closer every day, but they would not speak about her wedding or Roy. She never told him that she had bought the dress, that the flowers were set up, and that she had spoken to a priest and a rabbi. He was speared, and he didn't want to know about that stuff. A few days after they talked he had noticed that she was not wearing her engagement ring. When he asked her about it, she simply told him that it was a favor for him, she knew it bothered him. That moment he wanted to take her in his arms and never let her go, but he managed to stop himself from doing that.

After he got out of the hospital and went back to his apartment, Ziva was still the one coming over and helping him out, cooking, and spending time with him. She did not seem affected by his constant companionship, so he thought, but the truth was she was falling for him more and more with every day that passed.


	14. Preparations and pain of the heart

**Hello! I'm back...suffering from a severe case of writers block. Any way I managed to finish this chapter... Decided to split it up into two chapters...I don't want to kill you with a very long chapter:))...With other words I started writing the last chapter. Please read and review and more important ENJOY:))**

**If think it's a little out of character, but you tell me:)**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill...I don't own NCIS:((**

**xoxo LT**

* * *

**Preparations and pain of the heart**

It was Saturday, 7:30 morning, and he didn't want to get out of bed, the only thing Tony wanted to do was sleep some more. But he knew he couldn't, he had promised her, that he will help her out this time.

The Italian rolled on his back and stared at the ceiling, remembering Thursday night. She came over and cooked the best lasagna he ever ate, and after dinner they decided to watch a movie. He picked out Doctor Dolittle 4, very stupid movie but it was perfect to laugh your ass off. They sat on the couch side by side. She snuggled next to him, and he felt nervous like a teenager on his first date. Ziva didn't actually see the movie; she fell asleep in his arms, right in the middle of the movie. He took the time to study here, to stroke her satin hair, to breath in the jasmine perfume her skin was covered in. His heart was beaten loudly and at the same time he felt pain, because he knew that in about three weeks all this would be over.

She had asked him, if he could accompany her and help her make up her mind regarding the location of the reception. The catering company had been booked for weeks now, but she had no place where to have the food, she rather had two options for the reception. Ziva had to choose between a beautiful garden outside of Washington, or a huge ballroom hall very close to the navy yard, and they had to see which would look better, which would be more convenient, what place is more comfortable. But he didn't want to go, he didn't want to help her at a wedding in which he was only a guest. They argued the previous night when he asked her why Roy isn't doing this, after all it was his wedding to. It seems he was stuck in paperwork, she told him, but Tony was annoyed by the lack of involvement from the groom's side. He had finally agreed to help her out, and she had hugged him, something that she seldom did.

Tony quickly put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and then sat down to have a cup of coffee. Ziva should arrive in a few minutes, and he was happy he had some time to enjoy his coffee, before this hell day started.

A discrete knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts. He opened the door, only to reveal a very tiered and angry Ziva.

"Morning Ze." He said looking at her.

"Good morning Tony. You have more coffee, yes?" she asked while passing him by on her way to the kitchen.

"Yeah sure, just come right in." he added.

She had pored herself a large amount of coffee and was sitting on his kitchen counter. Tony studied her face, and noticed that she looked exhausted.

"What have you been up to last night Zee-vha? You look like hell!" he commented in a very detached and relaxed tone, although she could clearly hear the distress in is voice.

Last night had been hell for her. She and Roy had argued for hours about the reception; it was driving her insane that he didn't give a damn about the place where they will gather all their friends. She had to book the place today so she could send the invitation. In less then 20 days she would have to face the music and she was not even finished with half of the preparations. Roy had left her apartment angry and she had cried most of the night, not really getting any sleep. Ziva realized the previous night that her feelings towards Roy were more protective and not the feelings needed to support a marriage. Still she tried to convince herself that love will come after the marriage and it was the best way.

"I planned Tony. Last night I planned my wedding." She replied tiered.

"Oh. I see." Tony peeped out loud. He was happy that she did not smile mischievously, and let him understand what the future Mrs. Sanders was doing, but still hearing the word wedding out of her mouth tore him apart for the millionth time.

"We should go sweet cheeks. We are so going to be late and I have a date tonight. Need to get ready."

"I see. Ok then let's go." Her response came and Tony could hear her voice break down.

* * *

They left the apartment and Tony drove first to the ballroom, Ziva following him right behind in her red Mini Cooper. When he head offered to take her in his car, he told her that she had to go to a dress fitting.

Once they arrived to the ballroom, both of them were greeted by a woman in a very pink outfit. Here blouse was a light shade of pink while her skirt was a screaming shade of pink. She wore black high heals and a pink hat with black feathers. Ziva was struggling not to burst in to laughter while Tony was hiding behind her. The woman came smiling towards them with her hand stretched out.

"Hi there. I'm Melissa Myers. You must be Ziva and Roy." She said and smiled lovingly.

From that close range both Ziva and Tony could see that she was wearing a lot of make up, but her eye shadow, her lipstick and her blush was pink. Both NCIS agents were struggling not to laugh.

"Hello my name is Ziva David, and this is my partner Anthony DiNozzo." Ziva said, while shacking Melissa's hand.

The woman looked confused and after a while said "I'm sorry Miss, but I though your husband's name is Roy. What happened, just traded them at last minute?" she asked and then started laughing because of the joke.

"No this is my partner…" Ziva started but was cut off by Melissa.

"Oh I get it now. He is your modern, Sex and the city type of friend." Melisa began, but was surprised to see the confused look on Tony's and Ziva's faces.

"You know. Your gay friend. But that's alright, I love gay guys. They are so modern, and they know everything about fashion. Plus these are the guys who will never want to sleep with you." she trailed away, while elbowing Ziva and winking at the same time.

"No! No! No! You got this al wrong. I'm not gay. I'm here partner, we work together." Tony said.

"Oh, I understand now. I'm sorry. How silly of me. Are you by any chance single then?" she asked and smiled sweetly.

"People you can chat latter and get a room, but first I want to see the damn ballroom." Ziva hissed angrily.

"Well, I see we have a bridezilla here." Melissa spoke furiously and walked towards the entrance.

"What does she mean by that Tony? I don't get it. Has she insulted me, because of she did I am going to kick her bottom."

"It's ass Ziva, and she kind of insulted you. You know that movie Godzilla? Well she just called you that plus a bride." Tony replied but regretted it the moment he spoke it out loud. Ziva's face turned dark and she was on her way to draw her gun.

"Easy there sweet cheeks. You need that woman remember." He tried to calm her down.

"I am going to stuff that funny hat up her ass." She trailed away angrily, and to her surprise Tony started laughing.

"Honestly Ziva, I need to get you angry so you can remember the American idioms."

She grabbed him by the jacket, and said playfully "Ok wise guy let's go and see this ballroom, before I shoot pinky here."

They both entered the room, and looked around. It was clean, white beige walls, the lower half covered in wood, a nice wooden floor, and approximately 20 large round tables. The chairs were old style, the ones Ziva loved so much. The bottom of the chair was covered in beige leather, and the back of the chair was weaved. It looked comfortable and the same time elegant.

"The room has great acoustic and we can provide you with a list of bands if you want to.

How many guests are you expecting?" Melissa asked

"Uhm, there will be around fifty guests." Ziva answered, still looking at the room.

The crystal chandelier caught her attention. She was also fascinated by the large windows, which were revealing a beautiful garden.

"I'm sorry Miss, but we don't rent this hall for less then o hundred people. You can't have this place. You have no idea how expensive it is to maintain it." Melissa said.

"I'm sorry, what did you say? This is absurd, I have fifty guests and that's it, and now you tell me I can't rent this place." Ziva said, getting angrier by the second.

"That is correct Miss. I'm sorry. Now if you would excuse me, I have another client waiting for me." Melissa added looking at her watch.

Before Tony or Ziva could say anything Melissa had already left the room.

Both agents left the ballroom, and were about to drive to the garden when Ziva's phone range. After a short conversation Tony could tell that Ziva was angry.

"What's up?" he cautiously asked.

"The woman we were supposed to meet for the garden told me that something has come up, but she will meet her in two hours." She replied, while passing around the parking lot.

"Oh, we can go for a cup of coffee then." He said.

"I can't, I need to be at the dress shop until 12. It's already 10 and if I don't go today that dress is going to be a disaster." She replied, very close to crying.

In the past weeks, she had been investigating, killing, taking care of Tony, going out with Abby and planning a wedding. She was exhausted and not in the need of more complications. Tony could see how upset she was, so he decided to do something he swore himself he will never do, when it came to Ziva.

"Ok, so let's go and try your dress on." He spoke, hoping that she wouldn't hear the melancholy on his voice.

* * *

They drove to a nice dress shop, and Ziva was nervous. She couldn't believe that Tony would agree to accompany her here. She tried the whole time not to keep him involved with her wedding, in fact he knew nothing and this was the first time she had asked for his help.

Ziva was sick of trying on dresses and going to fittings. She had actually bought a dress weeks ago, but decided not to pick it up until the day of the wedding. It would have been much easier for her, because the shop had an excellent stylist team as well and they would accompany her the whole time, get her dressed, take care of her hair and make up. Disaster struck a week ago, when a new employee of the salon sold the dress to another woman. The young girl did not know that the dress was reserved for Ziva, and later that day the owner of the shop had called Ziva and told her that the dress had been sold but promised Ziva to custom make on for her for free. Now Ziva had to act like a bride to be and go to fittings.

When they arrived to the dress shop, the owner welcomed both Ziva and Tony into the shop.

Antoine was one of the best dress makers in DC, and he was in love with Ziva's figure; now he was going over the top to make her the perfect dress.

"Ziva sweety, I am so glad you came. Come right in, and bring that lovely man of yours in. I am sure he is eager to see his future bride in a fantastic gown." The man said, grabbing both by the hand and dragging them inside.

"Oh Antoine you got it all wrong. This is my partner, Anthony DiNozzo. We work together, he is not my fiancé." Ziva rapidly spoke.

"Hy. Nice to meet you Antoine." Tony said, shaking Antoine's hand."

"Oh. Mhhh…Hi there! Nice to meet you. Ok Ziva darling, let's get you dressed. Hurry please." Antoine added and pushed Ziva into the dressing room, following her close behind.

"Tell me Ziva, is your partner single?" the designer asked curios.

"Yes he is, as far as I know." she replied while taking off her cloths.

"So, there's no one special in his life. Ah…Ziva dear, can I have his number. I mean he came with you to a dress shop, he must be gay." He said.

Ziva started laughing and giggling and looked at him. "Oh Antoine you got it all wrong. Tony isn't gay. Trust me, he is such a macho. He came to help me out with some stuff, because Roy is very busy. Tony is a good friend of mine."

"I'm sure he is just friend, you dirty girl… Antoine began. Figures, they are all taken or straight. Damn it!" Antoine snorted out frustrated.

"I'm sure you will find the one, Antoine, and if you don't want me to shoot you next time watch your language." Ziva added.

"Grrr…Ziva dear don't be such a wild cat." He commented while adjusting her dress.

"There, you are all dressed up. Put on those high heals and let's go and see what _your_ Tony says of you." he spoke while smiling mischievously.

She wanted to protest but he pushed her out the fitting room.

"There we go. The bride to be." Antoine commented looking at Ziva and then at Tony.

The Italian was speechless; he was just staring at her. The strapless gown was made up of a corset with small white roses and full-length A-line skirt adorned with lace trim. It made Ziva's olive skin stand out more, and Tony was mesmerized. He couldn't take his eyes away from her, and at the same time he felt the pain in his heart stronger then ever. She was perfect but he would never be the one expecting her in front of the alter.

"Well…?" She asked shyly.

He swallowed hard and looked at her once again.

"You look…uhm…wow!" he finally spoke.

"Oh I am so happy that you like it Mister Tony. Doesn't she look amazing?" Antoine asked all excited but couldn't take his eyes off of Tony.

The NCIS agent continued to stare at Ziva fascinated.

"Yeah. She looks amazing." Tony spoke again.

Antoine could see that Tony saw Ziva more then a friend. He could actually go so far and say that he was in love with the Israeli, and by Ziva's facial expression he could tell that the feeling was mutual.

"_What the hell is she then marrying another one, then?"_ he asked himself.

"Ziva gorgeous, you will have to come for one more fitting. It looks good but I want to change some things. Let's say same time next week?" Antoine asked and looked at Ziva.

She did not turner to face Antoine, she was still looking at Tony.

"Ahm. Ok." She mumbled and then broke eye contact, by going back to the fitting room.

She didn't want Tony or Antoine to notice that she was close to crying. _"Why? Roy is such a wonderful man and yet why do I still want Tony? Why can't I push my feelings for Tony aside?"_ she asked herself while she was undressing.

"She will make her husband very happy." Antoine told Tony outside the dressing room. Tony stood up and walked over to the large glass door. He was looking at the back yard, not feeling in control to look Antoine in the eyes. He had the impression the designer could see through him and see what he actually felt for Ziva.

"You know, it's never too late to get what you want." Antoine spoke.

"What?" Tony asked, now facing Antoine.

The light coming from the outside was covering up his face so Antoine couldn't tell what impact his words had upon Tony.

"I mean, it's never to late too make things right." Antoine explained.

Tony wanted to continue the conversation but was interrupted by Ziva, who came out of the dressing room.

"Here you go Antoine. Here's the dress and we have to get going. There is still one more location to see." She explained.

"I see. Good then I will see you next week Ziva. It was nice to meet you Tony."

Tony nodded and walked out of the shop. She smiled weakly and went out of the shop as well.

"I will see you at the garden Ziva, ok?" Tony spoke, his back slightly turned, so he could not look her in the eyes.

"Ok. I will see you there." She spoke softly.

* * *

Twenty minutes later both cars pulled in front of "Lis Blanc Jardin", one of the most breath taking gardens outside Washington. Both agents were fascinated by the multitude of rose species, lilies and orchids. They had the impression that they were in paradise and the smell was hypnotizing both.

An elderly woman came to great them.

"Hello, my name is Martha. You must be Ziva and Roy." She spoke, smiling warmly at both of them.

"Hello, my name is Ziva David and this is my work colleague Anthony DiNozzo." Ziva spoke, shacking her hand.

"Hello, nice to meet you." Tony spoke

"Oh. Very well then, let me show you around the garden then." Martha spoke and turned towards the entrance of the garden. Both agents followed her.

"We have different species of flowers here, but the garden is more of a park. We have old oaks, elm trees, walnut trees, everything what your heart desires. A small fountain splits the garden in two. The first part is where the guests enter and where the band will be playing, while the second part is the dance floor which we will build up and the table area. You can fit up to two hundred people here but smaller wedding receptions can be held here." Martha explained.

"The place is beautiful." Tony said.

"It is indeed. If you want I can leave you for a while so you may explore the garden and I will be back later. As you can see we have a band here preparing for next week. We have a wedding so they needed to see how the music will be heard, and then decide if they would be needing more equipment." She trailed away.

"If you could leave us for a while here, that would be perfect." Ziva said looking at Tony.

"Very well then. I will be back in half an hour or so." Martha said and then left the two standing next to the fountain.

There was silence between the two; they were enjoying the splendor of the place. The small rose bushes attracted Ziva's attention and she went closer, leaving Tony behind. The music in the background was soft and neither of them wanted to disrupt the atmosphere.

Ziva turned after a while, to look at Tony who was gazing at her.

"Tony, I'm sorry I dragged you here. I am really sorry for this." She finally articulated.

He came close and looked at her, brushing a strain of hair out of her eyes.

"I had no right to ask you to do this. I know how uncomfortable this is." She continued but there was still no response from Tony.

"Would you please say something?" She begged.

"Would you like to dance?" he finally asked.

She was speechless, did not know what to answer but somehow she found herself in Tony's arms dancing slowly.

She put her head on his chest and could fell his heart beat, while his chin was resting on top of her head. Ziva felt at peace; after such a hectic time she was calm and he was the reason for it. They had no idea for how long they were dancing, but neither of them wanted to stop.

"Look at them Henri. That's real love." A woman spoke.

Both pulled apart and looked around, only to see a man and a woman in their mid sixties observing them.

"We are sorry; we did not mean to startle you. It's just… we saw us in you two." The man spoke.

"Yes we were exactly like you two a long time ago." The woman added.

"To be more precise forty years ago." The man said and started laughing.

"Oh Henri, you make me sound old." The woman spoke and playfully hit her husband over the arm.

"Nonsense my dear. You look just like on the day I met you." Henri spoke and kissed his wife on the cheek.

"We wish you all the best in the world." Henri spoke and they both left.

"They seem happy." Ziva spoke after a while.

"Look Ziva…I need to talk to you." Tony said avoiding to look her in the eyes.

"Tell me what's bothering you." Ziva uttered.

"I thought I can do this. I thought I can be only your friend, but it turned out to be more painful then I have ever imagined…he began…

"Tony I…" Ziva cut in.

"Please Ziva don't interrupt me. I need to tell you this. I just can't do this."

"What do you mean Tony?" she asked concerned.

"I mean this Ziva. Pretending that I don't feel anything. I'm sorry but I will not be attending your wedding. It kills me to know that you will be with another man and frankly I will not torture myself and see you become Mrs. Roy Sanders." He spoke painfully and tiered.

Before Ziva could say anything Tony walked out of the garden. She remained next to the fountain crying, hoping that the ground would open up and swallow her.


	15. The Wedding

**Hello! **

**I'm back with the final version of this last chapter. I hope you like it, and I want to thank all of you for the wonderful reviews. I am working on my next story and I hope you will like it. Until then please read and review, please tell me your oppinion.**

**xoxo LT.**

**Disclaimer: I wish you would but I don't:)**

**

* * *

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The Wedding

"Abby he's not coming." She softly spoke between sobs, hugging a pillow on her couch.

"Who Ziva? Who dared to cancel on you?" a very enraged Goth asked.

"Tony. He's not coming to the wedding."

"WHAT?? What do you mean he's not coming?" Abby asked shocked.

"We went to the "Lis Blanc Jardin" three weeks ago and he told me he would not be there to see me marry another man." Ziva spoke and then blew her nose loudly.

"But he can't do that. He needs to be there tomorrow. I am so going to kick his ass." The forensic expert yelled.

"I understand why he's not coming Abby, trust me I would do the same, but that doesn't mean it does not hurt me." Ziva explained.

"I know Ziva. I'm so sorry."

Ziva smiled lightly and looked at the sad Goth.

"Ziva you are not going to like this but I need to tell you." Abby began

Ziva looked curious are her but did not make any comment, or tried to stop her in some way to tell her what she already suspected.

Seeing that the Mossad assassin did not make any remarks and she was still alive Abby continued. "It's not too late to change your mind, and before you kill me hear me out. You two are mad about each other and that's a fact. I mean I see the way you look at each other. It is so clear to all of us that you are made for each other." She vehemently explained.

"Abby, we been through this. I need somebody that will not go away on a mission and maybe get killed. Plus Tony still does not trust me; he never told me why he hadn't mentioned his mission. A relationship can't be built on lack of trust." Ziva said.

"Yes, but can a marriage be built on lack of love?" Abby continued.

The Israeli did not answer; she just couldn't because she knew Abby had a point there. It was painful for her to acknowledge that.

"Abby it is really to late anyhow to cancel the wedding, plus I want my own family, I want somebody to be there for me, and the best choice is Roy." Ziva spoke in a convinced tone.

"Ok then ninja chick. If you are going to get through what you said you need some sleep now. Tomorrow morning your dress and the whole beauty factory would be here." Abby said cheerfully, hoping at the same time that Ziva would not notice her disappointment.

Ziva smiled and went back to her bedroom, while Abby headed back to the guest room. They both laid down in bed, hoping to fall asleep but for none of the two women did the desperately needed sleep made itself noticed.

* * *

After twisting and turning, Abby stood up from the bed. The thought of Ziva not marrying the man she loved made her sleepless, she actually had the impression that she had around half of dozen Caf-Pow's. Desperately trying to come up with a solution, she did the only thing she thought could save both Tony and Ziva, she picked up her phone and speed dialed Gibbs.

After three rings, she heard a rouged voice.

"_Gibbs"_

"Hy Gibbs. I'm sorry for calling so late." She spoke quietly.

"_It's alright, I couldn't sleep anyway. What's wrong?" _Gibbs answered.

"Ahm, how should I put it, Tony is not coming to the wedding. Ziva was crying most of the evening and she does not love Roy. What are we going to do Gibbs?" Abby said while trying not to let Ziva know what she was up to.

There was a long pause and Abby thought that Gibbs had hung up on her.

"Gibb are you there?" she finally asked.

"_Yes Abby I'm here. We do nothing Abby; she made up her mind and we can't change it."_ He explained.

"But they were meant for each other." The Goth tried again.

"_Abby, Ziva's a big girl. She knows what's best for her and we have to respect that."_ The gray haired agent continued.

"She is going to marry the man she doesn't love. We have to do something." The forensic expert tried again.

"_Abby the_ _one thing you can do is go to bed and tomorrow be there for Ziva."_ Gibbs spoke.

"Ok oh grumpy one. Good night."

"_Good night Abby. I will see you tomorrow."_

She hung up the phone and tried to get some sleep. After twisting and turning for a long time she finally fell asleep.

* * *

"_He's not going to the wedding. Typically Tony." _Gibbs thought. Although he didn't agree with this approach he understood Tony, it was normal not wanting to see the woman you love marrying another man. Yet Tony never went out without a fight. _"Why is he not fighting for Ziva?" _Gibbs asked himself.

He tried to ignore the thoughts about Tony and Ziva and work on his boat, but everything was in vain. He knew that they were making a huge mistake, Ziva by marrying and Tony by giving up. The NCIS agent grabbed his jacket and his keys and ran up the stairs.

Half an hour later he parked outside Tony's apartment. There was light at one of Tony's windows, indicating that his senior field agent was not sleeping yet.

It seems after a bottle of Jack on the rocks, Tony was still too sober, and so he made his way to the booze cabinet to take another bottle.

Tony thought that he could fight the picture of Ziva in that wedding dress, Roy smiling happily having _his _woman. When they had finished work today he just ran home ordered a pizza and started drinking. Now several hours later he wished that the alcohol could kill him or at least make him numb, so he wouldn't have to feel the pain.

The memories of Ziva, lying under him or on top of him during the undercover mission haunted him, and as hard as he tried it seemed that the memories did not want to go away. During the undercover mission he fell for Ziva more then he would ever admit it. Although they had to fake being a married couple, it felt right. He tried once again to suppress the image of Ziva's olive skin and her dark hair, her beautiful eyes by taking another sip from his glass. The whisky did not kick in and another image poped in his head. It was Jeanne and their relationship, and then the night he had stayed in bed and hoped the feelings for Ziva would just go away. But they didn't, in fact they got only stronger and he remembered how he almost blew his cover when he moaned Ziva's name during sex. He had to lie and tell Jeanne that he remembered the name of a character out of a movie. Tony told Jeanne that during one of his classes a student had asked him a question regarding a movie, and he couldn't remember the characters name at that time. Jeanne had been mad for a couple of days but his cover was intact.

Three years of being partners, of being friends, three years he had waited for a shot of being happy with her and everything crumbled right before his feet. He took the bottle and drank a mouth full, almost chocking.

Tony heard a knock on the door and tried to stand up, but he immediately dropped back on the couch. It seemed that the alcohol finally got to him, so he yelled out "Go away! I'm not home! Hick!"

He took the bottle once more, hoping that he had scared the person and he could be alone. Suddenly he felt something grabbing the bottle from his hand and when he raised his face he saw his boss looking at him.

"Boss! How did you get here? Grab a glass and have a seat. There is plenty of whisky left for the both of us." He babbled smiling stupidly.

But Gibbs only continued to stare at him.

"Do you think this would make everything go away?" Gibbs said, pointing out to the bottle.

"Nope. But it makes it a whole lot bearable." The whispered response came.

"Tony, it will not help if you drink. Trust me I have been there and it's not a solution; it's just momentary relief."

"Boss, I want this all to be a nightmare. This can't be happening, she can't get married, she just can't." he spoke, misery present in his voice.

"DiNozzo I wish I could tell you this is just a dream, but it's not." Gibbs uttered, taking a sip from Tony's whisky.

"Let's face it Gibbs! I blew it big time. I didn't want to get close to her, because I was afraid, afraid of hurting her and myself. There was always rule number 12 in the back of my mind, but something in here told me that it would be worth it to break that rule." Tony blurred out, punching his chest softly with his right palm, indicating his heart.

"Tony, my rules are more of guide lines, nothing more. They are here to stop you all from making mistakes that would hurt you and the team."

"It seems then that following the rules would hurt me and the team, so we are screwed anyway."

"Don't you think you owe it to her to be there? DiNozzo be there for her tomorrow." Gibbs spoke.

"If I go there it would be torture for her and for me as well. I don't think I can do this. We both feel the same and yet she goes on with this wedding." Tony said, anger creeping into his voice.

"DiNozzo don't go there. Don't turn your sadness into anger."

"Why boss? Maybe it would be easier for the both of us this way. Maybe it would be for the best if I would take that promotion and move my ass to Rota. After all working with her, knowing that Ziva is married would affect work."

"She explained to you, why she is doing this, didn't she?" Gibbs began.

"Yeah she did, but I don't see how this would be a proper explanation?"

"Tony, when your car blew up, when we thought you were dead, I saw her face. The amount of pain she was in, although she tried her best to hide it, broke my heart. When McGee and her searched the wreckage and she found your badge, I could see that she was desperately trying to hold, back the tears. When we got back to NCIS, she went to the rest room, and when she came back, half an hour later; her eyes were read and swollen. This is the reason why Ziva is afraid of being with you. She is afraid of loosing you, she is afraid of not being able to go on if something would happen to you." Gibbs explained, hoping that his senior field agent would understand why Ziva was behaving the way she was.

"I have seen how she looks at you. When you were in the hospital, she nearly shot the nurse, when she refused to tell her what your condition was. Then she looked after you Tony; for two months she planned a wedding, worked her ass off, and took care of you, although it would have been easier to ask somebody else to do it. She showed you how much you mean to her, and yet you can't swallow your pride and be there for her tomorrow." Gibbs trailed away.

"Boss, she's Mossad, she should know that being an agent means risking your life, and facing death any time. Still it's no excuse for throwing everything you build up away." Tony tried to explain.

Thum!

"Au! What was that for?" Tony asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"For being an idiot. DiNozzo go to bed. You're drunk and not thinking straight. Tomorrow morning I want you there. Good night!" The gray haired agent spoke, waking himself out of the apartment.

"Good night boss, and thanks." Tony articulated, not looking at his boss.

Gibbs only nodded and then slammed the door shot.

After finishing his drink, Tony decided to call it a night and get some sleep, hoping that the darkness could tell him what he should do. He fell asleep immediately, dreaming a drunkard's dream, full of desires and fears.

* * *

It was 5 o'clock in the morning and she was wide-awake. The night had not brought her any relief; no it confused her even more and she hated the feelings that were drowning her. During the night Ziva went from crying, to being happy and anxious, to being so scare that she just wanted to pack her bags and get the hell out of America, NCIS and this wedding. Now the Mossad assassin thought the best thing she could do is go for a run. It had helped her in the past, when she needed to think, and she was sure it could help her now. Even if she wouldn't come up with an answer to her fears and dilemmas she could at least have the impression she could outrun them.

Ziva left a note on Abby's door, promising her that she would be back by 6:15, leaving her plenty of time to take a shower, and then let herself be tortured by the stylist team.

The light was dim and there was no one in sight, making her feel in peace. Normally she would choose a middle pace and not run her heart out, but this time she chose to run like her life would depend on it.

"_Ziva I see the way you look at him and he looks at you."… "Are you going to marry Roy?"… "Have you spoke to Tony about this?"… "Ziva I can't do this. I can't pretend that I don't feel anything. It kills me to see you marry another man."… "It's not too late to change your mind." _Ziva remembered what they all said, and it only made her run even faster. She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks when she thought about the wonderful evenings she had spent with Tony, the fun they had, the way he made her feel. It was not fair, he was making her weak, he made her frail, and yet he made her feel special, like a woman.

The tears were clouding her view, and she couldn't actually tell where she was heading. Her foot caught on to something and Ziva felt how her whole body was pushed forward. It happened so fast, and yet when she hit the ground she cried even more. She wasn't hurt physically but the emotional pain was killing her. The Israeli lied there for minutes, crying, while birds where twittering sadly, like they were feeling her pain and understanding her. The sun was spreading its rays around making Ziva lift her head from her hands. Unwillingly she looked at her watch and noticed that it was already late. She needed to get back to her apartment and shower, Antoine had promised her to be on time. Slowly Ziva stood up and walked to her apartment, calmer now. She knew what she had to do and there was no way out of it; she wouldn't ruin Roy's life.

Quietly she opened the door to her apartment hoping that it would not wake Abby. After all she did not need to see her in this state. She took her running shoes off and creped towards the bathroom.

"Morning Ziva." Abby greeted softly.

The NCIS agent was shocked by Abby's greeting, considering that normally it was so loud that ones eardrums could rupture.

"Morning Abby. Why are you up so early?" Ziva asked, moving towards the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.

"I couldn't sleep…OMG what happened to you?" Abby asked stunned.

Ziva hadn't noticed before in what state her clothes were in; now she saw the full extent of her fall. Her top was ripped in two places, her arms were bruised from the fall, her face was dirty, she had grass in her hair and her running pants were muddy and ripped in a few places.

"Oh, that! It's nothing Abby, I fell during running." She explained.

"Are you injured? Come here and let me take a look at you." Abby demanded and to surprise Ziva obeyed.

The Goth saw the bruises on Ziva's arm and pulled her to the bathroom. She opened Ziva's medicine cabinet and took a small bottle of disinfectant and some cotton balls.

"This might sting a bit." The forensic expert warned.

She meticulously cleaned Ziva's scratches and then looked Ziva in the face, but the Israeli turned away.

"You have been crying." Abby added, more of a statement then a question.

Ziva nodded tiered, and began taking off her top.

"Why didn't you wake me?" her friend asked.

"You needed your rest. Besides it's nothing."

Abby did not add anything; it was clear to her that her friend was not in the mood of confiding.

"I'll let you shower. Antoine would be her any minute."

Ziva nodded and took off her pants, and Abby turned to exit the small room.

"Abby!" Ziva exclaimed and saw the Goth turn back. "Thank you. For everything."

Abby smiled softly, nodded and left the room, letting Ziva with her thoughts and the warm water.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Ziva got out of the shower only to hear Antoine's cheery voice mixed with Abby's.

"_Oh my GOD! You look fabulous. When Ziva told me that the maid of honor will have a black dress I told her she's insane, she's nuts, but now after seeing you I might consider becoming straight."_ Ziva heard Antoine say and she couldn't hide a chuckle.

"You and straight Antoine. That is defiantly never going to happen." Ziva said.

"Ahhh there she is." Both Abby and Antoine squeaked.

"You're right mon cherry I could never be straight, but please look at this beautiful creature here." Antoine babbled pointing out Abby.

"Wow Abby! You look, wow! McGee is going to be very happy." Ziva smirked.

"Very funny Zee-vha!" Abby playfully bit back.

"Hey don't pull a Tony on me!" the bride defended.

"Oh Tony! How is that gorgeous gorgeous man?" Antoine interfered.

Abby and Ziva looked at each other, one paler then the other, but luckily for them Antoine noticed Ziva's clock that was almost screaming "late".

"Ok we don't have time for small talk. Ziva move you ass to make up. Abby get out of that dress and let Mage do your hair. Come on people more, we have a wedding to attend." The designed bossed around.

* * *

Twenty minutes later both Mage and Brenda were annoyed by Antoine's remarks. He was acting like he was the bride and not Ziva.

"Relax Antoine! You know for a guy, you sure as hell bitch around a lot!" Abby said and Ziva chucked when she saw Antoine's face. After almost an hour both women had perfect make-up on and each a perfect hair dew. Abby had her hair pulled in a sophisticated ponytail while Ziva's hair was made into a complicated bun, full of small white flowers. Both slipped into their gowns and the sight of the two gorgeous women brought tears to Antoine's eyes.

"You both are perfect. My perfect creations!" he exclaimed.

"Ok you guys, we should be going. It's late and we have a bride to deliver." Abby said and they all went out the door.

A black stretch limo waited outside and all three of them hoped in.

They arrived at the chapel just in time, and both women met Jenny in the back of the church.

"You look great Ziva, and so do you Abby." Jen complimented.

"Thank you Jen." Abby and Ziva spoke at the same time.

"There are a lot of people here." Jen continued.

"Is Tony here?" Ziva asked, while trying to spot him in the crowd.

"No. He's not here." Jen reluctantly admitted.

"Oh! Ok then." The bride spoke, disappointment clearly noticeable in her voice.

"Are you ready?" Jen continued, looking at the crowd.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Ziva spoke but both Abby and Jen could clearly notice that Ziva was unhappy.

"I'll get Ducky then and we can start." Jen said and swiftly left.

Abby pulled Ziva closer and looked her in the eyes, firmly holding her.

"Listen to me Ziva, it's really not to late. You can still change your mind. Just walk away and let me handle this." The bride's maid advised.

Ziva was about to answer, when a melodic voice stopped her.

"Ah Ziva. Here you are. Are you ready?" Ducky asked.

She looked at him, then back at Abby.

"Ziva please it's not to late. Don't make a mistake. Please listen to me." Abby tried.

"It's to late Abs. I have made my bed, now I have to sleep on it." She bitterly replied.

"I'm ready Ducky." She trailed away and Ducky took her hand.

"Abigail please let them know we are ready." Ducky requested.

Abby made her way towards the front of the church, and Ziva couldn't help but notice how Abby wiped her cheek swiftly.

* * *

The solemn music was clearly heard and that was the sign for the door to open. Slowly Ducky and Ziva walked towards the front of the chapel. All heads turned to the bride and she could clearly hear the "Oh's" and the "Ah's".

Roy smiled happily in his black tuxedo and Abby held a bouquet of red roses. She looked miserable, and at the same time Ziva had to force herself to smile. Everything felt so fake, but she was a woman of word and she would keep her word. The music stopped once Ducky placed her hand in Roy's.

Outside Tony heard the music stop and his heart ached even more. He couldn't bring himself to enter the chapel, but he couldn't leave. It was as if his feet were buried in the ground. He hoped this would be short and he could leave before anybody would spot him. When this was over he would talk to Jenny, get that promotion and head for Rota. It was time for him to face the music, and he knew that working with her on the same time would be too painful, for both of them.

* * *

"We are gathered here in the presence of God to witness the exchanging of vows that will bind this couple together in the covenant relationship of marriage. When this ceremony has ended they will leave this place as husband and wife for the very first time having been joined together by their Creator, the God of heaven." The priest began.

"Who gives this daughter in marriage?" the priest continued.

"I, Donald Mallard." Ducky replied.

"Marriage, is a covenant of love in which both husband and wife empty themselves of their own concerns, and take upon themselves the concerns of each other as they love and care for one another." He trailed away.

Once finished the rabbi started to read out of the Talmut and Ziva bowed her head, still trying to hide the tears. She understood now, marriage was based primarily on love, and that was not present when it came to Roy. She just cared for him, but there was definitely no trace of love.

After the rabbi had finished reading the priest took the word again.

"Ziva and Roy are here to prove their love and to receive the Lord's blessing. They agree to share everything together, love each other and respect each other.

Roy, Ziva, do you both come freely, and without reservation, desiring to commit yourselves to one another in this covenant of marriage?

"We do." The both spoke but Abby and Gibbs noticed that Ziva didn't sound to convinced.

"Before we begin I must ask If anyone knows any just cause why you may not be lawfully joined together in matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace." The priest said and the exact same phrase was spoken in Hebrew. But the rabbi and the priest waited and when he was about to continue, Abby stepped forward.

"I oppose this marriage." She loudly spoke.

Most of the people in the chapel started to turn their heads and whisper anxiously.

"Abby, please don't." Ziva whispered.

"Why is that Miss? Why do you oppose this marriage?" the rabbi asked.

"For the same reason I oppose this marriage." Gibbs said while standing up.

"Jethro, what are you doing?" Jenny asked.

"Putting a stop to this." He answered.

"Could we please find out the reason why you and Miss…"

"Abby."

"Thank you, miss Abby oppose this marriage?" the priest asked whit a distressed voice.

"That's what I would like to know as well. Ziva what's going on?" Roy asked.

Before Ziva could answer, she Abby already started speaking; "Because she doesn't love the groom."

"She loves somebody else." Gibbs continued.

"What? Ziva what's this? Is this true?" Roy asked.

"Oh put a sock in it. This isn't about you." Abby interfered.

"I beg to differ." The grumpy answer came.

"Ziva please for once in your life stop listening to your head and listen to your heart." The Goth pleaded.

"But Gibbs, rule number 12?" Ziva began.

"Ziva, so this is true. There is somebody else." It was more a statement then a question from Roy's side.

"Rule number 12 does not exist anymore." He said.

She smiled, for the first time after a long time from the bottom of her heart, and then turned to face Roy.

"I'm sorry Roy." She said and gave him the bouquet of white roses.

She turned to face Abby and smiled. "Thank you." She said and then moved towards the door.

Briefly Ziva stopped next to Gibbs. "How can I ever thank you, for doing this?" she asked.

"By telling DiNozzo that I don't want to see the both of you, for a week." He smiled.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"He's hiding outside, trying to make up his mind if he should come in or not." The gray haired agent continued with a smirk.

She smiled, and kissed him on the cheek, then started running towards the entrance of the chapel.

Ziva pushed the doors open, letting the sunlight caress her face. She quickly noticed Tony and ran towards him, jumping in his arms.

"I love you. Please forgive me." She whispered between tears.

"Oh Ziva!" Tony hushed and began kissing her.

They had both gotten what they have wanted for a long time, and nothing could come in the way of their happiness.

"I love you Ziva! I love you like I have never loved a woman before." Tony spoke between kisses.

Their tears mixed, their hearts were reunited, and they had finally found their way to each other.


	16. Epilogue:The Wedding: Take two

**Hello, hello! Because I couldn't let the story unfinished and because Bumling and Megean had asked me to write one, here is the epilogue. Make me happy and read&review.**

**xoxo LT**

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* * *

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Epilogue: Wedding: Take Two

More then a year had passed since she had canceled her wedding with Roy. The past months have been the happiest in her entire life. Ziva David couldn't ever imagine that a woman can receive so much love, pleasure and comfort from one person; and that person was Tony.

Right after the wedding, everybody had stormed out of the chapel, to see where Ziva had run off, but Tony took off with Ziva in his Mustang. He had rented a small cottage by the seaside, very close to Los Angeles, in a place called Rosarito.

It had been beautiful, and both of them had time to talk about everything that had happened. They used to walk on the beach, go shopping, have dinner at small local restaurants, and of course engage in the activity they had longed for such a long time.

Ziva had come to the conclusion that Tony hadn't been bluffing that he was good in bed and Tony recognized that Ziva was indeed a screamer. That week had been perfect, and they had discovered each other all over again. It was also the perfect place, where Tony tried to cure Ziva from her fear of loosing him. She had told him that the only thing that linked her to Roy was the certainty that he would not get himself shot or killed, but there was no love. Tony had promised her over and over again that he would do his best not to get injured, and he had been there for her, when she woke up, in the middle of the night, screaming and shaking.

When they had come back to DC, both of them had been greeted by a very happy Goth. Ziva still remembered that conversation. The Goth has hugged, asked, squeaked and cried of happiness. Later in the evening when the two of them went out for drinks, Abby had asked if Tony's " love making techniques" were just stories, or he was actually that good. Ziva's smirk, and her glowing was enough of an answer for Abby.

Gibbs had threatened to kill and fire both of them if they don't keep it out of the office. McGee had congratulated them, Ducky had been telling stories about women that had run away on their wedding day and later found true happiness, and Jenny was happy to see Ziva glow like that.

* * *

A few weeks later, Abby and McGee had announced everybody that they were getting married. Tim had proposed during a Brain Matter concert, and Abby had considered that it was the most romantic proposal ever. Of course Ziva had accepted to be Abby's maid of honor, and Tony had agreed to be Tim's best man. They had joked around that the favor would be returned one day, causing both Ziva and Tony to blush.

The wedding had been really lavish, and McGee had paid for everything. Tony had asked at one point how much money Tim earned with his books, and after finding out a vague number he had declared that he would become an author as well. Of course none of the NCIS family had expected Abby to have a conventional wedding.

Starting from her wedding dress, which was a not how everybody had expected it to be. Usually a bride wears white or beige, any way a color near to white, but Abby went over the top. She had confided to Antoine that she wanted to have a dress that everybody would remember. Nothing in the world could have made Antoine happier, and after almost two months of fittings and modifications, Abby walked down the aisle, wearing a white and red satin dress.

It was strapless, with a V-neck bodice, having a long train, which had red beaded accents. The V-neck body had blood red embroideries, and a large red bow placed in the back. It looked like the bow was actually supporting the whole dress. From the bow, were two red ribbons hanging. Abby was not your average veil girl, she had her hair pulled in a loose ponytail crowned with a pearl and crystal tiara; her shoes were delicate red high-healed platforms, with scattered rhinestone detail and her bouquet was made out of red roses.

After agreeing to be Abby's maid of honor, Ziva had threaten to shoot Abby if she dared to tell her that she needed to wear a pink dress. They had finally had settled on a dark green dress, and Antoine had outdone himself in that area as well. Her dress made Tony almost trip over his own feet. The dress was an A-line skirt in taffeta, with a gathered band at the bust and a detachable sash in the back. She had a pair of black sandals on, but no jewelry except the pear of earrings Tony had given her for her birthday. Her hair was pulled up in an elegant ponytail, leaving only a few strains of hair next to her ears.

On the 13th of March, Gibbs had walked Abby down the aisle, and almost two hours later Tim slipped an eight-karat wedding band on Abby's finger.

It had made everybody smile, when they thought about the minutes after the priest had pronounced Abby and Tim, man and wife. Tim had kissed Abby, and she had tears in her eyes, and when Tim had asked her if everything was ok, she just responded plainly "I'm so happy Tim. I love you." Not a single eye was tearless that moment. Gibbs had never seen Abby that happy, and was content that she had found a man who could love her the way Abby deserved.

The reception was beautiful, full of joy, and a lot of dancing. Tim had agreed to have the wedding in New Orleans at an old mansion, near a cotton plantation, fulfilling so one of Abby's greatest desires. They had a live band playing, and the sounds of swing music filled the night sky. Also present at the wedding were flame-eaters, sword-eaters and belly dancers. Abby's bowling nuns, had danced the night away, and a very excited photographer had been taking pictures every few seconds, almost drawing Ziva insane. At midnight Tim's surprise for Abby had brought once again tears to her eyes. Magnificent fire works colored the sky, taking different shapes. At one point it read "Abby and Tim" inside two rings that interlocked. In the end, the night sky was filled by the words "I love you Abby."

Around 3 o'clock in the morning that team had gathered around Abby and Tim's table, and Jenny gave them an envelope, telling them that it was from the team. McGee pulled out two tickets, which had Paris and Bordeaux written on it. The newly weds, would spend one week in Paris and another one in Bordeaux. Abby had smiled, and new that it had been Ziva's idea. After Ziva's wedding with Roy had been called off, Ziva had spent many evenings telling Abby had beautiful the two French locations were and how she would like to go there again. Abby had been so fascinated with Ziva's stories that she had done a lot of research of the places and fell in love with them.

* * *

Three months after Tim and Abby had married; Tony took Ziva to his father's vacation house in the Hamptons, for the weekend. One evening both of them were strolling on the beach hand in hand, the sun was about to set, and Ziva had asked Tony to stop for a minute and just enjoy the view. He had been holding her in his arms, not being able to let her go, and at one point he had popped the question. She accepted without hesitation and they had agreed to wed on the 25th of August.

Tony had requested that she should get another wedding dress, because he didn't want to see Ziva in the same dress she almost married another man.

After announcing to everybody that were engaged and soon to marry, so naturally Antoine had been summoned to create another fantastic gown. Ziva had found out only weeks before her wedding that Antoine had began sketching and preparing for Ziva's dress right after Abby's wedding.

They had decided to keep the wedding small, after Abby's lavish wedding they decided it was for the best only to have closest family and friends. Tony had invited some of his relatives, but he did not really expect them to come. Ziva did not have to many friends, and most of them were from Mossad, meaning that they were either on a mission or in worst-case scenario dead.

* * *

Tony nearly had a heart attack when Ziva had told him that aunt Nettie was coming to the wedding.

When Ziva had announced her family that she was getting married to Roy, her father and aunt Nettie had disagreed, and when Ziva decided to go through with the wedding her family had refused to participate. As soon as the two David's had found out that Ziva was getting married, yet again, but this time to an NCIS agent, aunt Nettie had decided to go to the wedding. Director David on the other had could not promise that he would make it to the wedding, meaning for Ziva that he will not show up, but at least he did not oppose her marriage. After Tony had found out that Nettie was a former metsada with Mossad, and thinking back on the phone conversation he had with her, telling her never to call back, Tony had started to worry for his life. His only wish and hope was that the 70-year-old assassin would not remember. Unfortunately he was proved wrong again.

The whole NCIS family had accompanied Ziva and Tony to the airport. Some of them were there to see Tony squirm, some of them were there to support him, but all of them were there for Ziva, because they knew it meant the world to her to have both of her family at the same place.

Aunt Nettie looked Ziva very similar, she had olive skin, with a small amount of wrinkles, deep brown eyes, although they were not as profound as Ziva's, and her hair still had some bouncy, Ziva like curls. Despite her age, aunt Nettie's hair was not gray, and Tony suspected that she had worked some "magic" to hide away her true age.

Ziva had run to meet her, and the team could see that the two David's hugged and were heading towards them, so they may be introduced properly.

"Aunt Nettie, this is the director of NCIS, Jennifer Shepard, and one of my closest friends." Ziva began, showing her the red headed woman.

"Ziva you forgetful child. Jenny and I know each other." Aunt Nettie, began and then embraced Jenny.

"This is my boss, aunt Nettie, special agent Gibbs." Ziva carried on, showing her the gray haired man.

"He has a strong grip. Marines, I presume." Nettie commented, still holding on to Gibbs's hand.

"How did you know?" Gibbs asked surprised.

Of what he knew, Ziva had not spoken to often to her family, and he noticed that Nettie was not a woman you can have small talk. Then again her brother was the head of Mossad, she probably knew from him.

Upon Gibbs's question aunt Nettie smiled enigmatically

"This is our forensic expert and by best friend Abby." Ziva trailed away, indicating the somehow intimidated Goth.

"You are a very pretty girl. You dress strangely, but still pretty. Let me guess, this one next to you is your husband." Nettie said, pointing out to McGee.

"How did you know?" Both asked surprised.

"You have identical wedding rings on your fingers." Nettie answered.

"Yes aunt Nettie, special agent McGee, our computer expert, and Abby have recently married. Moving on, this is our medical examiner Dr. Mallard." Ziva introduced.

"Ah, I see. You have something interesting for me Ziva, yes?" Aunt Nettie said, smiling mischievously.

"Nice to meet you Miss Nettie." Ducky said, kissing Nettie lightly on the hand.

"Ziva, your Dr. Mallard here is a charmer. I'm glad I have something in common with him. We both dealt with corpses during our lives." She said and both her and Ducky started laughing, without anybody joining them.

"Ok aunt Nettie. I like you to meet my fiancée, Anthony DiNozzo." Ziva trailed away, her heart jumping out of her chest. She also remembered the phone conversation between Nettie and Tony, and she silently prayed that she wouldn't remember.

"Nice to meet you aunt Nettie." Tony began, but was cut off by aunt Nettie.

"Young man, you have nuts." She said.

"Balls." Both Ziva and Tony corrected.

"Yes, yes Ziva, that too. You will tell me all the details later. I really hope he knows what he's doing. Wait let me check." She started and lifted his shirt.

"He has good abdomens Ziva." She spoke, while Ziva was trying to hide a chuckle and the others were doing their best not to burst into laughter.

"Next thing she'll do is check my teeth to see how old I am." Tony said, causing Jenny and Abby to giggle and Ziva to turn around so she could not burst into laughter. Aunt Nettie chose to ignore Tony's sarcastic comment and trailed away.

"Now I need to check if he has what it takes." She said grabbing Tony's belt.

Tony panickaly looked at Ziva, while Abby was holding on to McGee, whipping a tear from her eyes and trying to stop giggling.

"Whoa aunt Nettie! I feel her on display." He said, clutching his belt with one hand and trying to keep the elderly woman away.

"Nonsense! I need to know if you will be able to provide me with grandchildren." She spoke trying to pull his belt once again.

"Aunt Nettie, I can assure you, Tony is very well _equipped_." Ziva intervened, shooting Tony a mischievous smile.

"He has balls, yes?" the relative asked again.

"The size of baseballs." Ziva responded.

"I did not need to hear that." McGee said.

"Why is that agent McChaste? Do you have anything to hide? Feel intimidated? Nettie asked causing McGee to blush and making Tony and Abby burst into laughter.

"Enough with the balls already." Gibbs interfered.

"I just wanted to say, that the man is brave. If anybody has spoken to me, like Anthony did on the phone, he would be begging me to kill him faster and stop torturing him. He spoke to me like that, and yet he wants to marry my niece and has showed up here to greet me. I like a man who's brave and well build." She explained and then turned to face Ziva. "He can keep up with you. I like him, you may marry him Ziva." The woman spoke making Tony breath with relief.

"That does not mean I will not be watching you ball boy. If you hurt her, I'm going to use my imagination in killing you, and I have a very wild and twisted imagination." Aunt Nettie threatened.

"Believe me aunt Nettie, DiNozzo will be long dead, before you get to him." Gibbs said and Abby nodded.

Tony swallowed hard and Ziva began laughing after seeing Tony's desperate face, and Abby's murderous and determined face.

"Thank you all for your protection, but I think you are forgetting that I am metsada as well and I can take care of myself." She said, giving Tony an evil grin.

"What am I getting myself into?" Tony mumbled.

The group left cheery the airport, heading towards Nettie's hotel. She had refused to stay with Ziva explaining that a girl has to have fun, and Ziva would just be in the way.

Later that evening Tony had told Ziva that he did not want to upset her aunt ever, he was sure it would cost him dearly. His remark caused Ziva to giggle like a little girl.

* * *

Tony's father had refused to show up to the wedding in the beginning and at one point, had been very upset with his son marrying a Jew. Tony informed him, that Ziva, was Mossad, as well as her aunt and that her father was the Deputy Director of Mossad, so DiNozzo sr. should keep his mouth shut.

Tony's father had drank a bottle of scotch that night and had thought about his son. Tony had gone to bed, but he had forgotten his wallet in his father's study. DiNozzo sr. had pulled out a photo of his son and Ziva, smiling happily. Even though he was such a bastard when it came to his son, Tony reminded him of his desist wife, the love of his life.

He had not been kind to her, although he loved her, and after she had passed away, he could not look at his son, it reminded him to much of Isabella. DiNozzo sr. was going through a divorce with his sixth wife, and planning a wedding with lucky lady number seven. From what he could see, Carol, his new conquest was maybe a year older then Ziva.

After dwelling over a bottle of scotch, he told his son the next morning that he wanted to help. He gave Tony, names of breath taking seaside locations, and provided his son with the proper connections. Before Tony left the house, he slipped one wedding invitation with a blank spot where the location should have been, on his father desk. A small note next to the invitation made Tony's father smile "I'll let you know the location. Maybe you would still want to come. Tony." DiNozzo, the father, could only smile seeing that his son did not push him away even if he had been an asshole regarding the future Mrs. DiNozzo.

* * *

For the DiNozzo-David wedding, she was in charge or the dress code and he was in charge with everything else. After seeing how she had handled all by herself her first wedding and it had brought her on the verge of a breakdown, Tony decided to take care of the arrangements. Tony had asked Ziva not to question him, because he knew what he was doing, she just had to be surprised. During the long sleepless nights, the two of them, got to know each other really well. Ziva knew exactly what Tony liked, and Tony knew how to please and surprise Ziva. He wanted top give her a dream wedding, the wedding that fitted them both perfectly. The Italian had pieced together fragments of conversations and the result was just magical.

Ziva was at least content that Abby was helping Tony with the wedding, although the Israeli had no idea in which chapel they would have the sermon, or in what place they would hold the reception.

Tony had informed everybody where the wedding was going to be held, and they would all fly to the location two days before the wedding so they could keep an eye on the preparations. He on the other hand needed to keep Ziva occupied so she would not start suspecting anything.

* * *

A day before the team had to fly away to the wedding location, Abby organized a bachelorette party. Jenny, agent Lee, Nikki, aunt Nettie and herself, hit a strip club, a male strip club. The girls had a blast, drinking partying, enjoying the last days of Ziva being a single eligible woman. On the other end of town, Gibbs and Chuck Morris, from the Baltimore police department organized a bachelor party. McGee, Palmer, Gibbs, Ducky and a few friends from Baltimore went to a bar/ strip bar. Tony had gotten so intoxicated that Gibbs had carried him home. During the car ride, Tony had babbled nonsense, making Gibbs laugh and at the same time pity Ziva; she would have her hands full.

The next morning the NCIS team, and aunt Nettie plus some of the Baltimore cops flew to Monterey, close to San Francisco.

* * *

Tony flew Ziva a night before the wedding to the location. She had been worried, because Tony had not given away anything of his plan. On the 24th in the evening Tony had shown up at her door. He had asked her to get everything needed for the wedding because they needed to go. Ziva had been surprise and intrigued, but did not protest, so an hour later Tony had taken everything to the car. When Ziva wanted to get into the car, Tony asked her to let him blindfold her. She agreed reluctantly, but was more and more curious of what Tony had done. A few hours later, and at least two-dozen threats, Tony released Ziva from her blindfold. Abby was standing in front of her, smiling and a few minutes later the Goth threw Tony out of the room. He was not supposed to see the bride before the wedding. Jen, Nikki, Lee and aunt Nettie had come to Ziva's room as well. The girls had ordered take away food and movies, had laughed and around midnight they all fell asleep exhausted. In the mean time, Tony had taken one last look around the house and outside to see if everything was the way he wanted it. Gibbs had accompanied him, and both men were sitting on the terrace enjoying a beer.

"You know I'm proud of you Tony." Gibbs said.

"Really? Thank you boss." Tony spoke surprised.

"I though you would never change. I though that you will always be the same skirt chasing Tony. But now I see a grown man, taking a very important decision, and actually not panicking." Gibbs trailed away.

"I love her Gibbs. I want a family with her; I want to grow old with her. She is everything I have ever wanted from a woman, although I had been dating the exact opposite." Tony spoke and Gibbs petted him fatherly on the back.

A discreet cough had ruined the moment and when Tony had turned around he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Dad! You here?" Tony asked

"I hope you still got room for one more person at your table." He spoke and flashed a smile.

"Yeah. Sure." Tony stared surprised. He still couldn't believe that his father was here.

Gibbs had excused himself, letting Tony and his father have some privacy. Both man sat down on the porch, listening to the giggles coming from the upper part of the house. Tony smiled when he heard Ziva laugh; for him it was the most beautiful sound in the world.

"You do love her!" his father began.

"Yeah. I love her more then anything else in the world." Tony spoke lazy.

"Anthony, you remind me of your mother. You have her eyes that look in your eyes. You can see the love." Senior began.

"Tell me about her. It's been such a long time since I hear anybody speak about her." Tony requested.

Both father and son talked late into the night, about the woman that had been, and in a way still was Senior's heart, and for Tony the ideal of perfection and kindness.

* * *

The next morning the house was boiling, and Ziva, the calm Mossad assassin, was panicking.

Antoine had come to the rescue and Ziva's room, had been turned into a beauty salon. Ziva had asked Jenny, Lee and Nikki to be her maids of honor, but to her surprised Abby slipped into the same dress as the other three lovely ladies. Antoine had created four beautiful long dark blue dresses.

The dresses were strapless with beaded embellishment on the bust line, and a long pleated skirt. The dress was perfect to hide Lee's growing stomach. Lee and Palmer had married before Abby and Tim did and they were now expecting their first child. Ziva had asked Antoine to create a dress, which should be maternity friendly. The only difference between the dresses was that for Abby, Nikki and Jenny the dress was tighter, showing off their curves.

All of them were wearing ivory, low healed sandals. Antoine had asked Brenda to create interesting and classy hair dews, so all four ladies, had their hair pulled up in a bun and was held into place by an ivory colored hairclip. The make-up was light and beautiful, making all of them shine.

Next in line was Ziva, who had been so stressed that she could barely think straight. Aunt Nettie had threatened to hit her is she wouldn't stop panicking. Antoine had outdone himself this time. He was so proud of his creation that he wanted to cry.

The gown was made out of chiffon and satin, with a halter neckline. The very high waistline was embellished with small Embroidery and Beading. The A-line skirt had a detachable Chapel length train. The dress was sophistically simple and Ziva looked breath taking; a pair of ivory colored shoes adorned her feet. The shoes were high healed, hiding away the toes, with a round shape tip; a small flower could be seen on the tip of the shoe. Brenda had straightened Ziva's hair; pulling in the back two strains of hair and securing them with a small shell shaped hairclip. Her bouquet was made out of white lilies, and she had a pair of pearl earrings that Nettie had given to her. It seemed they had belonged to Ziva's mother, and she had asked Nettie atone point to make sure that Ziva would get them one day.

* * *

The ceremony was held on a green plateau, above the see. The large mansion that had been home for Ziva the previous night had been home for another twenty guests, including Tony's father. For the other guests, Tony had spoken to a few managers of small beach side hotels, and had reserved rooms as well.

The upper part, the plateau, had been decorated with orchids and lilies, and a small stage had been put up for the priest and rabbi. From the house, until the stage where the sermon was being held, a flower tunnel had been put up, made out of large arches covered with small roses. On the right and left side of the tunnel were chairs, and above the guests hung roses on wooden weaving.

In both cases, the tunnel and the wooden weaving, had originally stood there, but had been left unattended. Tony had been mesmerized by their beauty and had contacted a gardener and a florist to make the structure look like it was taken out of a fairytale. Large trees were near the guests, all decorated with white and champagne colored ribbons.

The time had come, and everybody was being seated. Tony was waiting for Ziva in front of the same priest and rabbi that had been in charge of Ziva's first marriage. In the front row Tony saw his father, next to his sister, Tony's aunt Flora and her four children. He smiled looking at his cousins; they were the only link he had to his mother. In the back his friends from Baltimore and some other coworkers from NCIS, were looking at him. He could also see some of his collage football buddies. On the other side, Ziva's side, Tony noticed that it was rather small. She had a few friends from DC, including Heidi the bartender from that bar; both there were a few unknown faces. From what Gibbs had told him, Ziva had invited some friends from France and Israel. Gibbs was right behind him, having the rings in his pocket, and on the other side he could see Abby, Jen, Lee, with slightly enlarged abdomen, and Nicky. In the front row aunt Nettie was smiling.

The soft music began to play. _"Here we go."_ Tony thought.

Inside the house, Ducky was helping Ziva adjust her train. Antoine, Brenda and Mage sprinted out the back to take a seat on Ziva's side.

"Excuse me Dr. Mallard, may I cut in?" a familiar voice asked.

Ziva quickly turned around and squeaked in delight: "Aba."

"Is it all right with you, if walk you down the aisle?" he asked sheepishly.

She hugged him tightly, and apologized to Ducky. The Scotsman smiled went outside to take a seat.

Seeing Ducky take a front seat, worried Tony for a second, but a few minutes later, Ziva walked proudly her father, holding his head high. Nettie smiled, Gibbs, smirked, the bridesmaids were confused, and Tony was happy because Ziva was happy.

Director David placed his daughter's hand in Tony's and then took a seat next to his sister.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to unite this woman, Ziva David, again, and this man, Anthony DiNozzo in the sacred bound of marriage.

Marriage is mystical tie, that must be build on love and trust and if one is not completely certain of the feelings tying a person to the other, then one must reconsider his steps." The priest said, looking at Ziva.

"Who gives this woman in marriage?" he asked.

"I do, her father." Director David asked.

"Did both of you gather here today, by you own will?" he asked and the rabbi translated the same question in Hebrew.

"Yes, we did."

"If there is anybody her that opposes this marriage, may he speak now or forever hold silence." The priest said and the rabbi repeated.

The priest looked at Abby and Gibbs.

"Are you two sure they can get married?" the rabbi asked.

Ziva burst into laughter and so did Abby, Gibbs only nodded.

"All right then, let us hear the wise words of the rabbi, from the Talmud." The priest spoke.

The rabbi spoke about love and support, about the trust between two and how love can overcome everything.

"Do you Anthony DiNozzo, take Ziva David to be your lawful wedded wife, to love and cherish for good and for bad, until death do you part?" he asked, and Tony noticed Ziva twitched when the priest spoke the part about death.

"I do." He spoke with confidence, and from the bottom of his heart.

"Do you Ziva David, take Anthony DiNozzo to be you lawful wedded husband, to love and cherish for good and for bad, until death do you part?" the priest trailed away.

"I do." She spoke, her face glowing with happiness.

"The bride and groom have decided to have their own vows." The rabbi said.

"Ziva, from the moment I saw you, that day you walked inside the office, I knew that something had happened inside me. You have been my partner, have watched my six, you have been my friend, my lover my soul mate. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, because without you I am empty and nothing. You are the only one making me whole. Without you, I am plain and artificial; with you I'm human and alive. Ti amo Ziva David." He spoke softly, taking her hand and slipping an eight-karat white gold ring. Inside the right "Tony ,25th of August" was engraved.

"Tony, you have thought me what it meant to be loved, what it meant to open up and not see trust and love as being a weakness. Your personality, you warm soul have shown me that there is light in the darkness, and my life is more then what it used to be. From you I have learned that listening to your heart can give you the best answers to though questions. For that I thank you, I love you, my friends, my husband, my soul." Ziva spoke and slipped an identical ring on his finger, heaving "Ziva, 25th of August" engraved on the inside.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." The priest spoke.

"Mazel Tov." The rabbi spoke, and put a glass on the ground with a handkerchief on top. Both Tony and Ziva stepped on it.

The guests stood up and started applauding, and Tony kissed Ziva passionately.

The walked back trough the tunnel, the guests threw rice and rose petals on them.

* * *

The reception was organized on the beach. A smaller house, which was linked by a staircase with the large mansion, had been tidied up. Inside the catering company had put up the liquor bar and the Swedish buffet, and outside a wooden floor had been build over the sand.

The large wooden floor was covered with small round tables, all with white linen and the finest China. Bouquets of lilies adorned the tables. A small wooden bridge connected the main dinning area with the dance floor, made out of wood. A large white tent covered the dinning area, keeping the guests in shade and also protecting them from any rain that might show up. The breeze was perfect and nobody complained that it was too hot. In the evening small Chinese lamps had been lit, and were handing from the large tent. Torches had been put up next to the dance floor, and the wooden floor where the band played. The couples were dancing slowly, while Tony and Ziva were walking hand in hand on the beach. She had taken her shoes off and her train, and he had taken his jacket and bowtie off.

"Mr. DiNozzo, if we ever retire out of NCIS, we can start a wedding planner company." She spoke.

"I presume, I am in charge of the preparations, and Mrs. DiNozzo is in charge of the financial part."

She smirked and continued to walk, dipping their tows into the warm water.

Once they had come back to the others, Director David came to congratulate the married couple and inform them that he had to leave for Tel Aviv.

"Ziva, my wedding gift to you is your permanent transfer to NCIS. Director Shepard has agreed with it. Congratulations my daughter. I will not cut any of your ties with Mossad. If you need me, I will help. Shalom. Tony, take care of my daughter." Director David said, shacking Tony's hand.

Ziva hugged him, thanking him over and over again.

They continued to party until the dawn, enjoying the fine food and the nice music. Tony's father had given them two tickets for Italy. He had asked them to decide upon a few locations where they would like to stay and tell him so may arrange everything. Jenny and Gibbs gave them two weeks off when they wanted, so they may go on their honeymoon.

All the guests returned to their rooms, before dawn, only Ziva and Tony stayed out and watched the sun rise. It was the beginning of a new day, the beginning of their new life.


End file.
